Drug case: Dismissed cop sent to judicial custody

A Bathinda district court on Tuesday sent the dismissed senior police constable Amandeep Kaur, who was arrested on April 2 on drug smuggling charges, to judicial custody.

Police officials monitoring the investigation said they have found details of Amandeep’s three bank accounts. Frequent transactions from different persons into her salary account are under scrutiny, sources said.

Amandeep is crediting her friends for supporting her lavish lifestyle, say the police sources. “The salary account of the cop with a monthly salary of about ₹60,000 had transactions varying from ₹5,000 to ₹3 lakh. These deposits were made by different persons. The sacked cop is not revealing much. Teams are digging deeper for details,” said an official pleading anonymity.

She was produced in the court amid tight security in the afternoon. Amandeep had been in the police custody since her arrest with 17.71-gm heroin recovered from her black SUV and the court granted her police remand thrice in the last one week.

Named earlier in an NDPS case

Officials familiar with the probe said Amandeep was booked under the NDPS Act in 2022 when her partner Balwinder Singh, who was earlier working as an ambulance driver, named her as an accomplice. She was suspended by the Bathinda police administration. “But her name was cleared during investigation and she was reinstated,” said a police source.

Interestingly, the Bathinda police have nominated Balwinder as a co-accused after about 18-gm heroin was seized from Amandeep. Balwinder is absconding and teams have been formed to nab him.

Officials said that during the custodial interrogation, Amandeep blamed Balwinder’s wife and a cop from the anti-narcotics task force (ANTF) for “implicating” her. “The Bathinda police are making efforts to nab Balwinder for further leads. The police would approach the district court for Amandeep’s police remand after Balwinder’s arrest. The police teams are still working to establish her role in the narcotic trade with material evidence,” said officials.

Investigators have so far found a Mahendra Thar and a Royal Enfield registered in her name.

The arrest of Amandeep with a small quantity of heroin drew much attention after voices from various quarters emerged that she was patronised by at least one Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who is currently holding a senior position in the state police.

But the investigators claim that nothing on record has surfaced that there was any direct financial transaction made by the IPS officer or the officer had any support to her in the narcotic supply matter.

Suspended four times

Police officials monitoring the investigation said Amandeep had a track record of indiscipline. In 2024, her two-year service tenure was forfeited by the Mansa district police for a poor work record.

“In her nearly 14-year career, she was suspended thrice by the Bathinda police administration and once in Mansa. Amandeep was placed under suspension for staying absent from a VIP duty in 2014 and skipping duty during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. She was suspended last year by the Mansa police authority and her two-year service was forfeited as a punishment. She was suspended after her name cropped up in a drug peddling in 2022 in Bathinda,” said a senior police functionary.