Lovepreet Singh’s arrest in a Punjab drug case has brought his political journey under scrutiny.
The recent arrest of a local Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader in Punjab has sparked a controversy, with questions being raised on how he thrived politically despite being named in a drugs case in 2020 and subsequent allegations of involvement in narcotics trafficking.
Lovepreet Singh, the AAP youth president in Majitha Assembly constituency and the ‘sarpanch’ of Kot Hirde Ram village, was arrested in a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act case on Thursday after being caught with 4.3 kg of heroin, a 30-bore pistol, four rounds and 30 live cartridges, the police said.
Singh was allegedly involved in petty thefts targeting mobile towers and residential properties in the 2017-2018 period, and the first NDPS case against him was registered in Gurdaspur in 2020. Despite this, he was appointed AAP’s youth president in Majitha. Locally, he wielded influence as the ‘de facto sarpanch’ of his village, with his aunt contesting elections in his place due to his criminal record preventing him from doing so.
His arrest led to the Opposition accusing the AAP of targeting opponents on drugs and gangsters, while remaining silent in such cases.
Singh’s arrest itself was described not as a pre-planned raid based on a tip-off, but as a result of the “sheer presence of mind” of an officer from Mehta police station. While on the road, the officer’s suspicions were triggered by the sight of a Scorpio with both its front and rear number plates caked in mud.
With the officer suspecting that this was a deliberate attempt to evade identification, a police team attempted to flag the vehicle down. Singh and his associates allegedly did not stop, resulting in a high-speed chase that ended when the police intercepted the vehicle, allegedly discovered the contraband inside, and took three individuals into custody.
Soon after his arrest, his photos with top leaders of AAP and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and local police officials went viral.
Investigators are now looking at his assets, which have allegedly expanded beyond his family’s modest 1.5-acre landholding, with acquisitions of shops, plots, and a fleet of vehicles. The police are also checking if his garage on Kathunangal Road serves as a front for illicit trade.
Singh’s father and uncle are both in the police. His mother is an Anganwadi worker.
