DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

A deputy superintendent of police posted in Amritsar was booked for allegedly supporting drug smugglers, an official said on Thursday. Vavinder Kumar Mahajan was booked by the Punjab Police's Anti Narcotic Task Force (ANTF), Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said here.

Yadav said DSP Mahajan was booked on the charge of corruption after a probe revealed that he has allegedly been supporting drug suppliers by engaging in corrupt practices.

An FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, highlighting the severity of the offences committed and the abuse of power, the DGP said.

The ANTF has taken a decisive action against corruption within its own ranks after recent investigations into a case pertaining to the seizure of 1.98 crore Alprazolam tablets and 40 kilograms of raw Alprazolam registered in February 2024, revealed that Mahajan was involved in a bribery case.

Presently, Mahajan is posted in Amritsar.

The DGP said during a joint inspection at a pharma company in May, the ANTF team discovered serious NDPS Act related violations.

"Preliminary investigation of this case revealed that DSP Mahajan had accepted a bribe of Rs 45 lakh from the pharma company to protect it from legal consequences," he said.

Sharing more details, Special DGP ANTF Kuldeep Singh said after the two vital witnesses given voluntary statements before the judicial officer and further corroborated by financial and technical evidence exposed misconduct by the accused DSP Mahajan, the ANTF decided to take legal action against the latter.
(editor@dailyworld.in)