BSF constable’s ‘custodial torture’, death: NCB suspends Major, S-I

Singh was on leave from his posting in Tripura when he was detained by the NCB’s Jammu unit on March 3, on allegations of having links with Pakistani drug smugglers. The agency claimed that during interrogation, they gathered information about narcotics hidden in Patti area of Tarn Taran district in Punjab.

Singh was picked up from Miran Sahib town of Jammu while returning home to Diwangarh village near the international border with Pakistan. He died on March 20, while still in custody.

While Singh’s mother and wife alleged that he was falsely implicated in the case, dating back to 2024, and tortured in custody, the NCB claimed that he died of “cardiac events” while under arrest.

In a statement on March 23, the NCB said Singh was taken for further investigation to Amritsar on March 19, where he developed chest pain and was admitted to a private hospital.

However, the autopsy report revealed 34 injuries on his body. It stated that while 24 wounds were found to be approximately two to four days old at the time of his death, nine other injuries were inflicted within 24 hours prior to his death. The medical examination, conducted at the Civil Hospital in Amritsar, found that he had suffered blunt force trauma from head to toe.

“The violence was not limited to the limbs and torso. The 34th and most serious injury was a large collection of blood (a severe bruise) trapped between the scalp and the skull on the left side of his head. This was accompanied by a swollen, fluid-filled brain and tiny, pinpoint spots of bleeding inside the brain tissue, all of which indicate that the head suffered a very violent impact,” it said.

The Miran Sahib police station, from whose jurisdiction Singh was picked up, had booked a case of “abduction” in the matter, based on the complaint of Singh’s mother, with officers saying the NCB kept them in the dark on the arrest.

Significantly, three other persons arrested in the same drug case, including Singh’s brother, had been discharged by the Principal Sessions Judge, Samba, on March 7.

“He was innocent… The NCB has destroyed my world. How will I survive now?” Singh’s wife, Lovejeet Kaur, 25, had told The Indian Express earlier. The couple have a five-year-old child.

Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd