NEW DELHI: Home minister Amit Shah on Friday raised the recent cases of suicides and murders related to the narcotics menace in Punjab, saying that they point to the rising threat of drugs, gangsterism and organised crime and also raise serious questions about the law and order in the AAP-governed state.Simultaneously, the home ministry on Friday sought separate reports from the Punjab govt on three recent cases involving drug-affected families and crusaders fighting the narcotics problem in the state. These include the Sept 7 suicide by Gulzar Singh, father of a young man addicted to drugs who had named an AAP minister in a video statement before taking his own life; and the murders of anti-drugs activists Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa disrict on Oct 13 and Bikramjit Singh in Batala, Gurdaspur, on Thursday.In a post on X on Friday, Shah said with Punjab grappling with the aforesaid threats, “the biggest question before the Punjab govt is — who will ultimately take responsibility for the security of Punjab’s people?”“In Dirba (Sangrur), a father taking poison under pressure, and in Mansa, the broad-daylight murder of Parvinder Singh Jhota, who had raised his voice against drugs, have raised serious questions about law & order in Punjab. Parvinder’s father has levelled grave allegations against the Punjab government and their MLA,” he stated.Shah alleged that the drug trade in Punjab flourishing, the threat of organized crime is growing, and questions raised about the safety of those who speak out against drugs. “Mr Chief Minister, the people of Punjab do not want publicity – they want answers; not announcements, but results; decisive crackdown against drug networks, and an impartial probe into any political patronage provided to criminals. Our goal is clear – crackdown against the drug trade, protection of our youth’s future, strict action against criminals, and the rule of law in such a way that no citizen is forced to live under the shadow of fear,” he said, directly addressing chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.On Friday, the MHA wrote to the Punjab chief secretary, seeking detailed reports on each of three recent cases, including two highlighted by Shah on X. The letter seeking Punjab govt’s response on Gulzar Singh’s suicide in Dirba, refers to reports alleging that the deceased had “questioned the availability of synthetic drugs in his area and raised allegations against a minister in the govt of Punjab.” The reports further alleged that Gulzar was “subjected to systematic harassment and pressure by the local panchayat, which purportedly forced him to take his own life.“In a second parallel communication sent to the Punjab chief secretary, the MHA raised the killing of Parwinder Singh Jhota, reportedly a “crusader against the rampant sale and abuse of narcotics and psychotropic drugs in Punjab” on Oct 13 in Mansa, Punjab, and the following protests in the state.. “The state govt is requested to furnish a comprehensive, factual report regarding the incidents, and steps taken by the state govt in this case,” states the MHA letter.A third communication by MHA to the Punjab chief secretary seeks a detailed report on the attack on Bikramjit Singh and two others, Nishan Singh and Gurmukh Singh, in Batala tehsil of Gurdaspur, during which Bikramjit died and the other two were critically injured. “It has been alleged that these attacks are related to narcotics drugs..in view of the potential law and order ramifications of this issue in the state, the state govt is requested to share a detailed report on the incident,” states the MHA letter signed by undersecretary Subodh umar Jayaswal.
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While Gulzar had, just before committing suicide, cited the severe addiction of his son to question AAP minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the unchecked drug problem in the area; Parwinder Singh was shot dead by a medical store owner in Mansa when he confronted the latter over the alleged sale of drugs to an elderly man. The incident took place while Parwinder was hosting a live session on Facebook. Just on Thursday, Bikramjit Singh and his two aides had confronted drug peddlers in Batala on Thursday, who then attacked them with weapons, killing Bikramjit and injuring his aides.
