Chandigarh, Sep 24 (IANS): Dismissed Punjab Police Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Raj Jit Singh, who had been absconding since April 2023 in cases linked to alleged drug trafficking, extortion and corruption, was arrested on Thursday in Patiala city, officials said.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav confirmed to the media that Jit Singh was apprehended by a team of the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in Patiala following a technical and financial investigation. Police are expected to seek his remand for investigation in the cases registered against him.
His arrest came days after his counsel told the Supreme Court that he was willing to give himself up. The apex court subsequently directed him to surrender before the authorities concerned and adjourned his plea, challenging a July 2026 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, for hearing on October 1.
Jit Singh faces multiple cases, including an ANTF case relating to allegations of a police-drug trafficker nexus and extortion, another case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and a Vigilance Bureau case concerning alleged disproportionate assets.
He had been declared a proclaimed offender after failing to appear before the court.
The allegations against him are linked to investigations into dismissed Punjab Police Inspector Inderjit Singh and the handling of drug-related cases during their postings. Singh was dismissed from service in 2023 following proceedings based on reports of the Special Investigation Teams constituted pursuant to Punjab and Haryana High Court orders.
The investigations had also examined the failure of more than 50 NDPS samples during the period when Jit Singh was posted as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Tarn Taran and Inderjit Singh was serving in the district police.
Jit Singh has challenged the proceedings and has sought transfer of the investigation to another agency, contending that he would not receive a fair probe from the Punjab Police. His legal challenge is pending before the Supreme Court.
However, the apex court has granted him liberty to file an appropriate application after surrender. “Raj Jit Singh abused his official position to shield the drug peddlers/ smugglers from the clutches of law, implicated innocent persons in false drug cases and also managed to scuttle the investigations in the FIRs registered against Inderjit Singh,” said a government order.
