New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) The Inter-State Cell (ISC) of the Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a proclaimed offender under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, who was evading arrest for seven years, police said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as 30-year-old Harpreet Singh alias Mani, is a resident of Bathinda in Punjab. In a First Information Report (FIR) registered in Bathinda on January 5, 2018, he was declared as a proclaimed offender under the NDPS act.

According to officials, the accused had been evading arrest for the last seven years by frequently changing hideouts and concealing his identity. Verification further revealed that he is wanted in another criminal case, also registered in Bathinda.

On January 5, 2018, the accused Harpreet Singh was apprehended by officials of Bathinda Cantt police station while carrying a polythene bag containing intoxicating medicines. The contraband items that were recovered from his possession included eight bottles of ‘Wincerex’ syrup, four bottles of ‘Onerex’ syrup and 15 strips of ‘Carisoma’ tablets.

An FIR No. 03/2018 under Sections 22/61/85 of the NDPS Act was registered at the concerned police station and the accused was arrested. Subsequently, he was granted bail in 2019 by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Later, the accused jumped bail and was declared a proclaimed offender on September 23, 2020.

Officials said that a team of ISC, Crime Branch, was working round-the-clock to trace and apprehend the absconding accused. Through persistent criminal Intelligence gathering, field verification, and technical surveillance, actionable information was developed which indicated that the accused frequently visited the Trans-Yamuna area of Delhi.

Further surveillance and local enquiries revealed that the accused had been residing in rented accommodations in the Ghaziabad area while constantly shifting locations to avoid detection.

On May 11, HC Nemi Chand received a tip that accused Harpreet Singh would visit the Dilshad Garden area. Acting swiftly on the input, a dedicated team comprising SI Ravinder Kumar, SI Sanjay Kumar, ASI Ratan Singh, HC Vikas, HC Ram Hari, HC Narender, HC Nemi Chand, and Ct. Parveen Kumar was constituted under the leadership of Inspector Shivraj Singh Bisht and under the close supervision of ACP, ISC, Ramesh Lamba.

A search was conducted and accused Harpreet Singh was apprehended from near the Dilshad Garden Metro Station. He was arrested after interrogation.

The accused revealed during interrogation that after absconding, he stayed at Faridabad, Loni, Hindon Vihar and Ghaziabad along with his family, police said. During this period, he worked at different eateries across Delhi-NCR and maintained minimal contact with relatives and associates to avoid police detection.

Moreover, information regarding his arrest has been conveyed to the concerned police station for further necessary legal proceedings.

–IANS

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