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PHAGWARA: Phagwara police have suspended three cops after video of a young woman sniffing heroin in lockup went viral. The incident is over three months old when the woman was arrested with 3g heroin but the video of it has emerged now.

Kapurthala SSP Sandeep Sharma said ASI Balbir Singh, head constable Hardeep Singh and lady constable Kuldeep Kaur were placed under suspension and departmental inquiry initiated against them.

“This would be investigated where the heroin came from as there could two possibilities — either her personal search was not done thoroughly or she was allowed to consumed part of the contraband recovered from her,” he said.

According to the FIR registered on March 30, one Sandeep Kaur, resident of nearby village Bhullarai, was arrested the police party in Tibbi area. Cops got suspicious after noticing her unusual reaction on seeing them. They then questioned about the small pouch in her hand. The FIR states that when the pouch was opened it was having the contraband.

In the video the young woman, wearing wedding bangles, is seen sniffing the drug and police personnel are heard talking to each other. According to police officials she was an addict as well as a peddler.

While police officials are refusing to say anything on the record that why was she allowed to sniff drug in custody, sources in the department claimed that after the woman started “showing withdrawal symptoms in the night they allowed her to sniff” so that she would not face major health issues before being produced in the court the next day”.

Meanwhile, Phagwara SP Parminder Singh Bhandal said that the woman had been released on bail from jail and no one was living at her Bhullarai address. Asked if police new when had she gotten married, the SP said that there was no clarity but “probably her husband was also an addict”. He said that they were still investigating as to who recorded the video.

