STATE TIMES NEWS
- J&K Police bust multi-state cyber fraud; 13 accused identified, Rs 2.27 Cr recovered
- Three Govt employees arrested for their subordinate’s suicide in Jammu
- Tractor driver arrested for running vehicle over couple
JAMMU: Police on Saturday claimed to have busted a Pakistan-linked narcotics racket with the arrest of two peddlers here with three kilograms of heroin, valued at around Rs 15 crore.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jammu, Joginder Singh, said a patrol party led by sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), south, and the SHO of Gandhi Nagar police station arrested the duo from near a crematorium in Shastri Nagar.
In total, 3.260 kg of heroin was seized from the peddlers, he said, terming the recovery a “big catch” and a “significant blow” to drug traffickers in the region.
Police are probing the matter after registering a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the officer said.
“The peddlers are part of a major racket linked to Pakistan-based and Punjab-based smugglers. At least seven more members of the gang have been identified, and efforts are on to bring all the culprits to book,” the SSP told reporters here.
Explaining the modus operandi of the racket, he said the traffickers used to smuggle narcotics through drones into Punjab from Pakistan and send couriers from Jammu to receive the consignment and distribute it here.
“The arrested accused is part of the supply chain, and this is the seventh racket busted by police this year. So far, 22 peddlers were arrested,” the police officer said.
Seeking public support to eradicate the menace of drugs from society, the SSP requested people to report any suspicious activity to the nearest police station. “Those involved in drug trafficking will not be spared,” he said.
Meanwhile, a police spokesperson said dozens of bank accounts involved in the drugs trade in Poonch district have been seized.
The action comes as part of an intensified crackdown on narcotics networks operating in the region, aimed at disrupting their financial lifelines and curbing the flow of illegal funds, he said.
During financial investigations, many accounts under scrutiny were found to have unusually high-volume transactions that raised suspicion, the spokesperson said.
He said these accounts were used to allegedly route proceeds from the sale and distribution of narcotics across multiple districts.
By freezing the bank accounts, authorities have effectively prevented the accused from withdrawing or diverting money that could have been used to further fuel illegal activities, the spokesperson said.
He said this action of the police is part of a broader strategy to dismantle the economic foundations of drug trafficking groups by targeting not only the traffickers but also their financial channels, associates, and facilitators.
Further investigations are underway, and more seizures and attachments may follow as the financial investigations continue, he said, adding that police have also attached immovable properties worth crores as proceeds of drug sales in Poonch district two days ago.
Police also recovered over Rs 2.27 crore after busting a multi-state cyber fraud and identifying 13 accused, an official said on Saturday.
The breakthrough was achieved following registration of a case by Khalid Hassan, a resident of Dalpatian Mohalla at the Nagrota police station here on November 10, a police spokesman said.
According to Hassan, he received a call on April 8 from his brother, Sajid Hassan, who sought an urgent amount of Rs 54 lakh. Acting on the request, the complainant obtained a Rs 54 lakh loan from the J-K bank. However, on November 10, he was informed by his brother that over Rs 2 crore, including the loan amount, which he had invested through the ICICI Securities application, had been fraudulently withdrawn by unknown persons, the spokesman said.
Following the complaint, he said the victim was advised to register an online fraud report through the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930.
The complaint, filed through the NCCRP portal, alleged cyber fraud amounting to RS 2,27,45,264 through fraudulent trading activities on the ICICI Securities platform.
During the inquiry, the bank statements of the victim and suspected fraudsters were obtained and analysed, after which it was found that the misappropriated amount had been transferred into multiple bank accounts operated by the suspects, the spokesman said.
He noted that prompt police action led to the freezing of several fraudulent accounts, and following court orders, the embezzled amount was remitted to the rightful account, resulting in a total recovery of Rs 2.27 crore.
Further analysis of Customer Application Forms (CAFs), KYC documents, and transaction trails established that the accused, acting in criminal conspiracy, cheated the complainant and other victims by inducing them to invest money under the false promise of high returns, the spokesman said.
He further informed that the investigation team has so far identified 13 suspects in the case, and multiple police teams have been formed to arrest the suspects across various states.
Three government employees were arrested on Saturday for the suicide of their subordinate near Jammu earlier this week, a police official said.
Puran Chand (55), a helper in the Irrigation Department, was found engulfed in fire in an open field near Ring Road Prithvipur on November 10, the official said.
He said Chand was rushed to the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital, where he succumbed to the injuries.
After registering a case, the investigations revealed that Chand allegedly took the extreme step after constant mental harassment, including withholding of his salary for the past few months by his seniors in the office.
The CCTV footage was obtained from the cameras covering the route taken by Chand while he was travelling on his motorcycle. The footage shows him arriving at a filling station in R S Pura, where he filled petrol in a plastic container and proceeded towards Miran Sahib where he set himself ablaze, the official said.
Three employees of the Irrigation Department — Surjeet Kumar (Incharge Ziladar), Girdhari Lal and Ram Murti alias Sani — have been arrested in the case, he said.
In another case, the police arrested a tractor driver for allegedly running the vehicle over a couple in the Marh area of Jammu on Friday, resulting in the death of Vikram Singh and critical injuries to his wife Vaishno Devi.
The police identified the arrested accused as Ranjeet Singh, a relative of the deceased.
Vikram Singh was working in his agricultural field along with his wife when an argument over land ownership erupted among family members, a police spokesman said, adding the accused allegedly entered the field on a tractor, and deliberately ran the vehicle over Vikram and his wife before fleeing the scene.
An FIR was registered at the Kanachak police station, and the accused was arrested within hours of the incident, the spokesman said, adding that the tractor was also seized.