VINOD BHAT
To fulfill Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a Nasha Mukt Bharat (Drug-Free India), a rigorous approach has been adopted under the guidance of Home Minister Shri Amit Shah. This strategy aims to choke drug supply routes, dismantle cartels, and penalize offenders. In a significant step towards its Zero Tolerance Policy against drugs, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has undertaken the preventive detention of high-profile drug offenders under the PITNDPS Act of 1988.
A notorious gangster and drug trafficker, Jagdeep Singh, alias Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, has been transferred from Bathinda (Punjab) to Central Jail, Silchar (Assam). A native of Gurdaspur, Punjab, Jaggu is involved in 128 criminal cases, including high-profile murder charges, extortion, violations of the Arms Act, and 12 cases under the NDPS Act since 2012. He is also an accused in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case. His criminal network has been responsible for facilitating the smuggling of heroin, opium, psychotropic substances, and illegal arms. Jaggu has repeatedly used mobile phones to orchestrate criminal activities, even from within high-security jails in Punjab, as evidenced by multiple documented cases.
Jaggu’s established links with international operatives in Canada, the USA, and Pakistan necessitated his relocation to disrupt the ongoing criminal activities. He was detained under the PITNDPS Act and moved from the High-Security Jail in Bathinda (Punjab) to Central Jail, Silchar (Assam) on March 23, 2025.
Previously, Akshay Chhabra and Jaspal Goldy, who continued their illicit activities while incarcerated, faced the filing of three additional cases under the NDPS Act against Chhabra and one additional case against Goldy. Both have been relocated from Punjab jail to Dibrugarh Central Jail (Assam) under the PITNDPS Act.
Another individual, Balwinder Singh, alias Billa Havellian, an offender active since 1992, has been a long-standing actor in cross-border smuggling networks from Pakistan. He was detained under the PITNDPS Act in Dibrugarh Central Jail (Assam) on August 13, 2024.
In another operation, the syndicate led by Jahanara Begum (currently out on bail) and including Insan Laskar, Manuyara Bibi Seikh, and Arjun Manna (who were already in jail) was implicated in multiple instances of trafficking heroin and Ganja. They were transferred from West Bengal to Jayprakash Narayan Central Jail, Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) based on a preventive detention order issued on September 5, 2024.
These actions were executed following detailed intelligence inputs and thorough investigations that highlighted the involvement of several high-profile traffickers in orchestrating drug trafficking networks from jail. The preventive detention orders aimed to disrupt operational command structures, sever jail-based criminal networks, and insulate prison environments from further exploitation by organized crime syndicates.
The preventive detention of high-profile drug offenders by the NCB under the PITNDPS Act, 1988, marks a critical step toward dismantling jail-based narcotics syndicates and advancing the vision of a “Nasha Mukt Bharat.” This decisive action reinforces the government’s proactive and unwavering approach to curbing organized drug crime in India.
Earlier, through a meticulous investigation employing both bottom-to-top and top-to-bottom strategies, 29 drug traffickers were convicted by the courts in 12 different cases nationwide.
Under the leadership of Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, the NCB is tirelessly working towards realizing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of a Nasha Mukt Bharat by 2047. To combat drug trafficking, the NCB seeks the support of citizens. Anyone can report information related to the sale of narcotics by calling the MANAS National Narcotics Helpline at the toll-free number 1933.
