Acquitting “drug lord” Ranjit Singh, alias Raja Kandola, and his accomplice Gurnam Singh in connection with heroin smuggling from Pakistan, Ludhiana Additional Sessions Judge Shiv Mohan Singh rapped the Punjab Police for its “shoddy” investigation into the case, saying the “prosecution has miserably failed….”
The court had acquitted Kandola and Gurnam Singh due to lack of evidence on October 24 in the 2017 drug case registered by the Punjab Police’s Anti-Drug Special Task Force (STF) at Ludhiana’s Moti Nagar police station after the alleged recovery of 5 kg heroin from two other accused Palwinderjeet Singh, alias Pinda, and Ravinder Singh, alias Ravi.
According to the detailed copy of the order, made available on Wednesday, the court concluded that “the prosecution has miserably failed to prove any connection between Ranjit Singh, alias Raja Kandola, and Gurnam Singh, alias Babbu, and co-accused (Pinda and Ravi) who are proclaimed persons… for the offences under section 27-A and 29 of the NDPS Act. Hence, points of determination are decided against the prosecution to that extent and in favour of both the accused. Both the above accused are acquitted of the charges framed against them”.
Kandola is lodged in Tihar Jail in Delhi. Pinda and Ravi were declared proclaimed offenders by the court.
In its chargesheet, the Punjab Police had claimed that Kandola, then lodged in Kapurthala jail, was in touch with Pakistan-based drug smugglers via phone from the prison and would facilitate the smuggling of heroin for distribution among his clients.
Pointing “serious lapses and shoddiness” in the probe conducted by the Punjab Police, the court said, “Even as a pen drive allegedly recovered from a car having alleged conversation between Raja Kandola and Gurnam Singh regarding the deal of the trade of narcotics, but the prosecution failed to prove the voice is that of the accused as it never got any voice sample of the accused collected, nor it sent the pen drive for a forensic analysis.”
“Material evidence against both these accused (Kandola and Gurnam) is that of Investigation Officer (IO) SI Jaspal Singh. In his cross-examination, he stated that he could not tell on which instrument the pen drive was prepared. He does not know personally about the voice in the pen drive….,” the court said.
Further rapping the police for not knowing the security and other jail-related details, the court while referring to the IO, said: “He does not know if under the orders of Ld. Sessions Judge Jalandhar Ranjit Singh was shifted from Tihar Jail to Central Jail Kapurthala. He does not know if Ranjit Singh was being produced before the court of Sessions Judge Jalandhar through V.C. He does not know if there is a strict arrangement to watch criminals at Tihar Jail as well as Central Jail Kapurthala. He admitted that no incriminating substance was recovered from Ranjit Singh during police custody.”
The court said police also failed to recover any mobile phone from Kandola when he was lodged in jail to prove that he was speaking to Pakistan-based smugglers. “No mobile phone was recovered by him (IO) from Ranjit Singh during the police remand. He has not visited Central Jail Kapurthala in connection with the investigation against Ranjit Singh. No one was deputed to record the statement of the Jail Superintendent or any inmate to ascertain that the accused was using mobile or wi-fi or internet in Central Jail, Kapurthala. He has not recorded any substantive evidence or statement U/s 161 Cr.P.C. to connect Ranjit Singh with Palwinderjit Singh, Ravinder Singh @ Ravi and Gurnam Singh. No employee of Central Jail Kapurthala was arrayed as an accused in this FIR for allowing Raja Kandola to keep a mobile or using wi-fi or the internet. No customer of Ranjit Singh was arrested to prove their inter-se links. No documentary evidence and bank statement of Raja Kandola was taken in the investigation to prove that Kandola financed the co-accused to purchase the incriminating substance. No statement of any private person was recorded to the effect that Kandola ever purchased or imported incriminating substances from Pakistan or that Ranjit Singh abetted the other accused for the purpose of dealing in narcotics. No record from any mobile company was obtained to the effect that Ranjit Singh was talking on WhatsApp with someone in Pakistan. No voice sample of Kandola was obtained.”
Commenting on the pen drive having an alleged conversation of Kandola and Gurnam Singh discussing narcotic deals, the court said: “Pen-drive was not sent to the expert for matching the voice. No narco-analysis of Ranjit Singh was conducted during the investigation. Except for secret information and pen drive, there is no other evidence against Kandola…”
“Similarly, ASI Sukhdev Singh has admitted in his cross-examination that in his presence no substantive evidence was collected that Kandola ever imported heroin from Pakistan with the aid of Palwinderjit Singh and Ravinder Singh Ravi. In his presence, no substantive evidence was collected that Kandola ever distributed profit between them. In his presence, no substantive evidence was collected that Kandola has ever sold heroin to various smugglers while being lodged in Kapurthala Jail through co-accused. No substantive evidence was collected to corroborate the secret information. Raja Kandola was thoroughly interrogated. No incriminating substance was recovered from his possession,” the court said.
A native of Happowal village of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) district, who had shifted to the UK in the late 1990s, Kandola was booked in multiple drug cases by the Punjab Police. He was also infamously known as “ICE drug lord” for running an alleged racket of manufacturing party drugs from methamphetamine and ephedrine and getting heroin supply from Pakistan, according to police. He owned multiple properties across Punjab, the UK and the US, and many of his properties have already been attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in money laundering cases.
The FIR was registered on July 19, 2017 under several sections of the NDPS Act at the Moti Nagar police station.
Kandola’s counsel Advocate SC Gupta said that he had submitted in the court that his client was “implicated in drug cases” by “tainted” Punjab Police Inspector Inderjeet Singh. He was dismissed from his service after the alleged recovery of 14 kg heroin, an AK-47 rifle and Rs 16 lakh from his official residence in Phagwara in 2017.