Barnala Police booked a uniformed police personnel under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after viral cell phone footage captured local villagers confronting him with packets of suspected heroin retrieved directly from his pocket.
Law enforcement scrambled into damage-control mode. The confrontation occurred on Dhanaula Road between Kacheri Chowk and Guru Ravidas Chowk, where a group of youths from Badra village intercepted the policeman. They accused him of consuming narcotics near a local tractor agency, pursued him through the streets, and marched him directly to the District Police Headquarters.
A video recording of the encounter quickly circulated across social media platforms. In the footage, agitated youths surround the uniformed officer, alleging they discovered sachets of 'chitta'—a street term for processed heroin—concealed on his person.
Police administrators moved swiftly to verify the footage. Following an immediate internal review of the video evidence, officers at City-2 Police Station in Barnala registered a formal case under Section 21 of the NDPS Act. The statutory provision strictly penalizes possession, purchase, and consumption of manufactured drugs and narcotics.
DSP Rajinder Pal Singh confirmed the registration of the criminal complaint, emphasizing that department brass opened an exhaustive investigation to trace every point of contact.
The police are investigating the matter seriously. Investigators are examining the backward and forward links of the alleged drug network to establish where the narcotics came from, who supplied them, and whether other individuals were involved.
Rajinder Pal Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Barnala
Police investigators are auditing the personnel's recent movements, call records, and known associates to dismantle the procurement pipeline that delivered the contraband into an officer's pocket.
| Case Parameter | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Accused Party | Punjab Police personnel (identity withheld in initial inquiry) |
| Police Station | City-2 Police Station, Barnala |
| Primary Charge | Section 21, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act |
| Incident Corridor | Dhanaula Road, between Kacheri Chowk and Guru Ravidas Chowk |
| Complainants | Village youths from Badra |
| Supervisory Officer | DSP Rajinder Pal Singh |
The episode strikes a sharp blow against Punjab Police's flagship anti-narcotics offensive, titled 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' (War Against Drugs). While district units have conducted statewide cordon-and-search sweeps, stepped up inter-district vehicle checkpoints, and detained commercial couriers, public allegations implicating an officer in uniform undercut institutional credibility.
Citizen trust erodes when enforcers face possession charges. Local residents had bypassed emergency helplines altogether, choosing instead to film the physical confrontation and deliver the accused officer straight to the district police chief's doorstep.
Barnala district authorities confirmed that further departmental suspensions and formal custodial steps hinge on the final analytical report mapping the officer's supply chain contacts.