Pathankot: A Punjab truck driver sentenced to death by a Saudi Arabian court in a drug trafficking case has prompted his family to seek urgent intervention from the Punjab and Central governments.
Baljinder Singh, a resident of Sujanpur in Pathankot district, has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for nearly three years after narcotics were allegedly found concealed in a medicine packet he was carrying across the Dubai-Saudi border.
Family says he did not know about the drugs
According to Baljinder’s family, he had worked as a truck driver in Dubai for nearly a decade and regularly transported goods to Saudi Arabia.
The family claims that before one journey, an acquaintance asked him to carry a package described as medicines for an elderly man in Saudi Arabia. They said Baljinder agreed without knowing that the package allegedly contained narcotics.
The packet was reportedly detected when his truck was scanned at the border, following which he was arrested. A Saudi court later convicted him in the drug trafficking case and sentenced him to death.
Family seeks diplomatic and legal help
Baljinder’s parents, Jaswinder Singh and Gurmeet Kaur, have appealed to the Punjab government and the Centre to intervene and explore all available legal and diplomatic avenues.
The family maintains that he had no connection with drugs or other illegal activities and unknowingly carried the package. They are seeking assistance to challenge the sentence and prevent his execution.
Details of the Saudi court’s judgment, including the quantity and type of narcotics involved, have not been independently confirmed in the reports available. It is also unclear what further legal remedies remain open to Baljinder.
The case has left his elderly parents deeply distressed as they await intervention from Indian authorities.