Punjab starts operation clean-up: State government launches crackdown on rampant drug trade

A humbling result in the national election seems to have done for Punjab what years of international scrutiny and censure could not: bring about a serious effort to rein in the rampant drug trade for which the state is now notorious.

Three days after results for this year's general elections were announced, throwing up a tally of just four seats for the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), began a three-day government initiative to crack down on the approximately Rs 5,000-crore drug trade.

The state is governed by a SAD-BJP alliance.

Officials of Punjab Police's Special Operation Cell with a cache of heroin recovered last week. This haul was not part of the three-day operation

Mixed results



The operation, though, has yielded mixed results.



On the bright side, the Punjab Police arrested close to 578 drug smugglers between May 19 and 21 and registered 556 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

But the seizures made in the period are paltry compared to the amounts usually recovered in drug hauls in Punjab.

SAD PAID FOR SAND MAFIA MENACE TOO By Mail Today Reporter The skyrocketing prices of sand and concrete took a toll on the Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) fortunes in the Lok Sabha elections. Sources said the Akali candidates who lost in the elections have conveyed the message to the party high command. The prices of sand and concrete have gone up as the mines in Punjab are under the control of the mining mafia. Punjab advocate General Ashok Aggarwal, while responding to a Public Interest Litigation on behalf of the government, had admitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court that powerful politicians, bureaucrats and senior police officers are involved in the illegal mining worth crores in the state.

Over the three days, the police confiscated all of 2.5 kg heroin, 3.75 kg opium and 377 kg Poppy Husk.

Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Jalandhar and Amritsar accounted for most of the arrests: 12 from Ludhiana, 38 from Kapurthala and 68 from Jalandhar.

The highest, a total of 93 smugglers, were arrested from Amritsar alone.



This is significant in that Amritsar is situated along the International Border between India and Pakistan, and is thus a hub of the drug trafficking racket.

Narcotics, primarily heroin, are usually brought to India from Afghanistan via Pakistan.

As for the cases registered under the NDPS Act, at least one-fifth or around 116 were in Bathinda.

Big fish at large

Some have argued that the sharp disparity between the number of smugglers arrested and the quantity of drugs seized suggests that the people caught are only small-time peddlers or addicts.

This, they say, means the big fish remain out of the police's reach.



In power in Punjab since 2007, the SAD-BJP combine has faced a barrage of criticism for failing to rein in the rampant drug trade in the state. Drug trafficking became a major issue in the recent elections, which were also marred by allegations of local politicians luring voters with drugs.

The arrest of renowned wrestler Jagdish Singh Bhola late last year sparked a raging controversy after he allegedly testified that state Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia of SAD patronises the drug racket.

He also reportedly named former Punjab Jails Minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur's son Damanvir, an office-bearer in SAD's youth wing, as one of the key players of the business.



Phillaur Senior resigned from the Punjab Cabinet this week on "moral grounds", maintaining though that his son was not involved in the racket.



'Depoliticise police to rein in drug menace'

By Manjeet Sehgal

The state Opposition Congress on Saturday demanded "de-politicisation" of the Punjab Police to take care of the drug menace in Punjab.



"The police is working under the influence of politicians…The transfers and postings of the police officers are done after getting the suggestions from the Akali Dal MLAs and party workers," Congress spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira said. A free hand should be given to the state police for going after the drug smugglers, he added.



"The real solution lies in depoliticisation of the Punjab Police and targeting the big fish in the trade. Given the situation, the police cannot dare to act against Akali supporters and workers involved in drug trafficking. Secondly, the resignation of Punjab minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur is merely an eye-wash and a move to make him a scapegoat in order to shield Bikram Majithia, publicly named by drug lord Jagdish Bhola. Why is the CM not dismissing Bikram Majithia from the Cabinet?" Khaira questioned.



Punjab Congress says it will help give the police more power (picture for representation only)

The forced resignation of Sarwan Singh Phillaur was part of a well-planned strategy of the Badals to improve their image, he alleged.



"But the core issue still looms large in the minds of the people- whether the government has the will to act against powerful politicians-drug mafia nexus, or is it a drive merely to catch the small fish in the trade," Khaira said.



He also demanded the resignation of two other Cabinet ministers and a chief parliamentary secretary who were alleged to be involved in the illegal drug trade.