Punjab executes the first preventive detention under the PIT-NDPS Act

Punjab’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) and Gurdaspur police executed the state’s first remand under the stringent PIT-NDPS Act, holding notorious smuggler Avtar Singh alias Tari for two years. This landmark action highlights Punjab’s commitment to make the state drug-free, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Friday.

Avtar Singh, a native of Gurdaspur’s Shahur Kalan border village, was involved in smuggling 231 kilograms of heroin across the India-Pakistan border, maintaining close links with smugglers in Pakistan. Under Section 3 of the PIT-NDPS Act, Tari was detained to prevent his continued involvement in illicit narcotics trade, marking a milestone for law enforcement in Punjab. This provision allows the government to place high-risk traffickers in preventive custody, a powerful tool to reduce the flow of drugs into the region.

DGP Yadav took to X (formerly Twitter) to highlight the significance of this operation: “This marks Punjab’s first successful use of the strict provisions of the PIT-NDPS Act, allowing preventive detention in narcotics-related cases.” Tari has since been transferred to Bathinda Central Jail, signaling a firm stand against drug peddlers and a substantial step forward in Punjab’s anti-drug mission.

Living in his border village, Tari’s operations spread drug addiction among the youth while destabilizing the social fabric of Punjab. Beyond this detention, Tari was convicted and sentenced in two previous narcotics cases under the NDPS Act, highlighting his long-standing role in narcotics trafficking.

DGP Yadav said that the Punjab Police is stepping up its efforts with more remands on the horizon to dismantle drug networks in the state, demonstrating the administration’s firm commitment to ending the drug crisis in Punjab.