Ex-NSG commando held in 200kg ganja smuggling case

JAIPUR: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Rajasthan police Thursday arrested a former National Security Guard (NSG) commando who was wanted in 200kg ganja smuggling case in Sikar.ATS handed over the accused, identified as Bajrang Singh (48), to Sikar police. Singh was carrying a bounty of Rs Rs 25,000.ATS said Singh was with BSF and worked with NSG on deputation for seven years until his retirement in 2021. The preliminary interrogation found that he was part of operation against 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. Singh made Ratangarh in Churu his hideout for a long time and kept a cook from Orissa with him. “He was involved in smuggling ‘ganja’ from Telangana and Odisha into Rajasthan and emerged as the kingpin in a case in which 200 kg of ganja was smuggled into Rajasthan,” Vikas Kumar, inspector general of police, ATS, said. He said ATS and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) successfully carried out ‘Operation Gaanjaney’, resulting in Singh’s arrest. On his life story, Kumar said, “Singh initially joined the Border Security Force (BSF) where he served briefly before being discharged. Later, he served for seven years as an NSG commando. In 2021, he got voluntary retirement.” “Singh’s political ambitions also became evident when he tried to push his wife into contesting local elections. However, the attempt failed. But it gave him exposure to local circles and strengthened his influence. Gradually, he established connections with criminal elements in Odisha and Rajasthan and entered into narcotics smuggling in the greed of good money,” Kumar added. The ATS and ANTF teams monitored his movements for nearly two months. “To evade arrest, he used fake mobile IDs and was moving from one remote village of Churu and Sikar to another. Finally, after technical intelligence and the help of ground-level informers, he was traced and arrested,” he added.