Amritsar, May 4: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has suspended a high-ranking Army officer on deputation in connection with the death of BSF Constable Jaswinder Singh while in agency custody. Major Amit Kumar, who served as an Assistant Director with the NCB, was suspended and immediately transferred as part of the ongoing fallout from the March incident. This marks the second disciplinary action taken by the bureau, following the earlier suspension and departmental probe of investigating officer Akash Rai.
The case stems from the death of Jaswinder Singh on March 20, which occurred while he was being transported from Jammu to Tarn Taran for evidence recovery. While NCB officials initially maintained that the constable died of a cardiac issue, a subsequent autopsy report revealed 34 distinct injuries across his body, including trauma to his private parts. The medical report affirmed that these injuries were ante-mortem, though the final cause of death remains pending further laboratory results from Kharar and Amritsar.
“Major Kumar is the second NCB official to be suspended in the case,” a senior agency official affirmed while confirming the personnel shift. The agency stated that they followed all due procedures, including judicial inquest proceedings, during the initial investigation. Officials maintained that Jaswinder’s arrest was based on technical intelligence linked to a broader drug investigation involving his brother.
The victim’s family has rejected the agency’s claims, asserting that the constable was subjected to severe custodial torture. Jaswinder was reportedly detained on March 3 near the International Border in Jammu while returning from a medical errand for his mother. His relatives have since approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court to demand an impartial investigation by an independent agency, having already petitioned the District and Sessions Judge for a formal FIR against the involved NCB officials.
