New Delhi, August 19, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A 31-year-old national-level wrestler wanted in a drug smuggling case in Jharkhand and declared a proclaimed offender has been arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch after a prolonged manhunt, officials said on Wednesday.
The accused, Amit Sheoran, a resident of Rohtak, Haryana, had been declared a proclaimed offender on December 6, 2023, in connection with an NDPS Act case registered at Dhurwa Police Station (Tupudana) in Ranchi.
According to police, the case originated on April 20, 2023, when Jharkhand Police arrested a suspected drug supplier, Rajesh Nag, in Khunti district and recovered 492 grams of opium from his possession.
During interrogation, Nag allegedly disclosed that he cultivated opium and supplied it specifically to wrestlers in northern India. He reportedly named Ranjeet and Sheoran among those receiving the drug from him.
The Jharkhand Police subsequently registered FIR No. 116/23 under relevant sections of the NDPS Act at Dhurwa Police Station.
The Delhi Police Crime Branch’s NR-II unit launched a focused operation to trace proclaimed offenders involved in serious crimes. Technical surveillance and human intelligence were used to track Sheoran’s movements.
Police said intelligence indicated that Sheoran would visit the Ranibagh-Pitampura area on August 18 to meet a relative and subsequently travel towards Madhuban Chowk Metro station. A team laid a trap near the station and apprehended him at around 10 p.m. after he was identified by the investigating officer from Jharkhand.
He was subsequently handed over to the Jharkhand investigating officer.
During questioning, Sheoran reportedly told police that he had studied up to Class 12 and was unemployed, occasionally assisting his farmer father. He began wrestling at 14 and later trained at Mehar Singh Akhada in Rohtak and Chhartarpal Stadium.
Police said Sheoran claimed he had observed wrestlers consuming opium to extend their practice sessions. He subsequently came into contact with Ranjeet, who allegedly supplied opium to various akhadas in Delhi and other states.
Sheoran competed in state and national-level wrestling tournaments and secured third position at the National Cadet Wrestling Championship held in Kanyakumari in 2013.
According to police, he had aspired to join the Indian Railways but later began working as a bouncer at bars and pubs in Delhi’s Subhash Place. He was allegedly persuaded by Ranjeet to enter drug trafficking for quick money.
Investigators said Sheoran subsequently travelled to Ranchi to obtain opium from Nag and allegedly supplied it to wrestlers in Haryana and Delhi.
Police said Sheoran had sought bail before a sessions court and the Jharkhand High Court, but both pleas were dismissed. Investigators have also found that he was previously involved in six other criminal cases.
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