Jaswinder Singh, a resident of Jammu, was taken into custody by a narcotics enforcement team from Jammu and brought to Amritsar for questioning. According to police statements made in March, he fell critically ill during interrogation and subsequently died while still in custody.
His family immediately alleged foul play, claiming that he was assaulted during questioning. The incident sparked protests outside the postmortem facility as relatives demanded accountability and a transparent investigation into his death.
The postmortem examination was conducted by doctors at the District Civil Hospital in Amritsar. The report, later shared by the family and Sarabjit Singh Verka, chief investigator of the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (Punjab Human Rights Organisation), recorded a total of 34 injuries on the deceased’s body.
According to the findings, 25 injuries were inflicted approximately two to four days prior to death, while nine additional injuries were sustained around 18 to 24 hours before his demise. This timeline, as noted in the report, coincides with the period when Jaswinder Singh was in the custody of narcotics officials in Amritsar.
Following the disclosure of the postmortem findings, Jaswinder Singh’s wife, Lovjeet Kaur, strongly alleged custodial torture and held officials responsible for his death. She stated that the presence of 34 injuries indicated severe physical assault while he was under official custody.
Earlier, the deceased’s mother, Gurmeet Kaur, had stated that her son was serving as a constable in the Border Security Force and had come home on leave. She further alleged that he was picked up from Jammu by narcotics officials on the 3rd and informed later that he had died in custody, after which the family was asked to collect his body.
The case has now raised serious questions over custodial safety, interrogation practices, and accountability of enforcement agencies, as authorities face mounting pressure to conduct a transparent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.
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