The police have booked a Punjab Ex-Servicemen Corporation (PESCO) security guard for allegedly supplying mobile phones and heroin to inmates lodged in Central Jail here.
According to information, the matter came to light when jail staff on duty seized 45 grams of heroin from prisoner Sukhdeep Singh while he was being escorted back to his barracks. The accused had allegedly concealed the contraband in his innerwear.
During the preliminary investigation, it emerged that the heroin had allegedly been supplied by Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Naurang Ke Siyal village, who is presently working as a security guard at the jail.
Sukhdeep further disclosed that the heroin belonged to another inmate, Kuljeet Singh, who is also lodged in Central Jail. Subsequently, during a search of Kuljeet’s barracks, jail authorities recovered a keypad mobile phone along with a SIM card and battery.
Jail officials said that during the investigation, the involvement of another inmate, identified as Gagandeep Singh, also came to light. The police have registered a case against all the accused under Sections 21, 61, and 85 of the NDPS Act and Section 52-A of the Prisons Act at the City police station.
It is pertinent to mention that this is not the first time a jail official has been found involved in facilitating the supply of mobiles and heroin to inmates. In August last year, another PESCO guard, identified as Jaswant Singh, was nabbed after six mobile phones were seized from his possession. The accused guard had reportedly been under the scanner for suspicious activities and was eventually caught by police with the help of Electronic Technical Device System (ETDS) while on duty at Tower No. 1 of the jail. During frisking, two touchscreen mobile phones were recovered from his pocket, while four more phones were found near the tower that he had thrown from there.
In another incident, on June 27 last year, Head Constable Sukha Singh was arrested while on duty near the main gate after 20 grams of heroin was seized from him during frisking. In February 2023, jail warden Naib Singh was arrested by sleuths of the Counter Intelligence (CI) wing for allegedly supplying drugs to inmates.
In November 2022, the police arrested a DSP for allegedly providing mobiles and drugs to inmates. The erring DSP was reportedly charging money from notorious gangsters, drug smugglers, terrorists, and other criminals in exchange for helping them stay connected to the outside world. In August 2022, sleuths of the Special Task Force (STF) arrested a jail doctor on similar charges.
Notably, in the last five months alone, more than 100 mobile phones have been seized from the jail. In 2025, 542 mobile phones were seized, compared to 467 in 2024.
