Dismissed Punjab AIG Raj Jit Singh Hundal Arrested in Drug Nexus Case

Dismissed Punjab Police Assistant Inspector General Raj Jit Singh Hundal has been arrested in connection with a case centred on allegations of a police-drug nexus and the manipulation of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) cases. Sources said he was taken into custody from Patiala.

The arrest is tied to the broader investigation into dismissed inspector Inderjit Singh, whose alleged links with drug traffickers had set off a major examination of the police's drug investigation network.

At the heart of the case are multiple NDPS samples that are alleged to have failed during the period when Hundal was serving as SSP Tarn Taran and Inderjit Singh was posted as CIA in-charge. A Special Investigation Team looked into allegations that drug samples were deliberately made to fail, potentially weakening or ending narcotics cases.

The SIT also examined claims of links between police officials and drug traffickers, along with allegations of manipulation and irregularities in the handling of narcotics cases.

Hundal's name surfaced during the SIT investigation, after which the Punjab government dismissed him from service in April 2023. He has denied the allegations and has challenged the proceedings in court.

The arrest is being viewed as a significant turn in the long-running police-drug nexus case, which has raised questions about how police officials investigated and handled NDPS cases.