*— POLICE TEAMS ALSO RECOVERED 15KG OPIUM FROM POSSESSION OF ARRESTED ACCUSED PERSONS*
*— ARRESTED ACCUSED WERE PROCURING ILLEGAL WEAPONS THROUGH FOREIGN-BASED SMUGGLERS: DGP GAURAV YADAV*
*— ONE MORE ACCUSED IDENTIFIED; POLICE TEAMS ARE ON MANHUNT TO NAB THE ABSCONDER: IGP GURPREET BHULLAR*
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, October 10:
In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Rural Police has dismantled two illegal arms and narcotics supply networks with the arrest of four individuals and recoverd 15 kg opium, one sophisticated M16 rifle, nine illegal pistols along with 25 live cartridges from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.
Those arrested in the first operation have been identified as Malkit Singh alias Meeta (32), a resident of Manj in Amritsar and his brother-in-law Gurjit Singh (32), a resident of Sarangra in Amritsar. The accused arrested in the second operation have been identified as Amritpal Singh (26) and Satnam Singh (29), both residents of Village Kakkar Kalan in Amritsar. Police teams have also impounded their HF-Deluxe motorcycle, which they were using from criminal activities.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused are allegedly linked to foreign-based smugglers and are involved in procuring illegal weapons. Further investigation is underway to uncover the complete backward and forward linkages and identify other persons involved, he said.
Sharing details of first operation, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Border Range Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on reliable inputs, a police party of Police Station Gharinda apprehended Malkit Singh and Gurjit Singh. During search, police teams recovered 15 kg opium and one modified US-made M-16 rifle from their possession.
He said that preliminary investigation has uncovered that both Malkit and Gurjit own around 10-15 acres of agricultural land adjoining the Indo-Pak border barbed-wire fence, which they were using to receive the consignments from across the border.
In the second operation, the IGP said that a special team from Special Cell intercepted Amritpal Singh and Satnam Singh near Dana Mandi at Lopoke and recovered five foreign pistols on the spot, while, another four pistols were recovered upon subsequent questioning, taking total recovery to nine pistols along with 25 live cartridges.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal said that the recovered nine pistols include two Zigana, six .30 bore and one .32 bore pistol. Accused Amritpal Singh is already facing a previous NDPS Act case registered at Police Station Chheharta, he said.
The SSP said that one their associates have also been identified and police teams are on manhunt to arrest the absconder.
In this regard, two separate cases— FIR No. 424 dated 29.09.2026 under sections 18-C and 29 of the NDPS Act and section 25(8) of the Arms Act at Police Station Gharinda, and FIR No. 310 dated 29.09.2026 under section 25(8) of the Arms Act and section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station Lopoke—have been registered.
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