Punjab: Wanted in multi-crore Jagdish Bhola drug case, Canada-based NRI dies of cardiac arrest

A promoter of Kabaddi, Ranjit was an Indian-Canadian and a former president of the British Columbia Kabaddi Federation. He was an accused in the drug smuggling case. ED sources confirmed his death.

Sources said that he was a frequent visitor to India to participate in the local kabaddi tournaments before his name figured in the Bhola drug case.

He also courted controversy by featuring in a Punjabi song glorifying rule-breaking Jat prisoners in jail.

In February 2018 when Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau visited India, the then Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh had met with him in Amritsar and handed over a list of names of 11 Canadian NRIs, accused in the multi-crore drug smuggling case, to him. Ranjit’s name was also in the list.

The other names in the list were that of Parminder Singh Deo alias Pindi Uncle, Sarabjit Singh Sandhar alias Nik, Nirankar Singh Dhillon, Gursewak Singh Dhillon, Amarjit Singh Kooner, Pardeep Singh Dhaliwal, Amarinder Singh Chheena, Ranjit Kaur Kahlon and Lahmber Singh Daleh.

Earlier the ministry of external affairs had also sought extradition of all of them. The ED too had sent letters rogatory (LRs) to Canadian government to make them join the investigation. All of them are proclaimed offenders (POs).

Captain had also handed over one more list of nine NRIs, who were accused of funding and setting up terror modules, to Canadian PM then.
Jagdish Bhola was formerly with Punjab police. A special CBI court in Mohali had sentenced him to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment in the case.