Chandigarh, Oct 20 Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday met the families of individuals who lost their lives due to drug-related issues in Punjab and called out the AAP government, asserting that under its regime, those who raise their voice against the drug menace in the state are not safe.
Shah arrived in Punjab earlier in the day and visited Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Mansa, marking his second visit to the poll-bound state in 20 days.
Hours before Shah’s visit to Mansa, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that the government has decided to transfer the murder case of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Jhota was killed last week by a medical store owner.
Labelling the Bhagwant Mann dispensation an ‘Aapda’ (disaster) government, Shah said the growing drug menace in Punjab and the rising audacity of drug traffickers have raised serious questions about the functioning of the AAP regime.
Opposition parties, including the BJP, have been targeting the AAP government while highlighting the drug issue in Punjab, where Assembly elections are due early next year.
Shah first visited Mari Panwan village in Batala, where he met the family of Bikramjit Singh, who was killed on October 15.
Villagers claimed that Bikramjit was targeted for opposing drug peddling in his area, although police stated his murder resulted from a scuffle between two groups over a mobile phone.
In a video of the meeting, Shah was seen sitting beside Bikramjit’s mother, who was holding a picture of her son.
A family member mentioned that Shah assured them justice would be pursued in the case, stating, “We sought justice, and he read our memorandum of demands and took it with him.” They expressed hope that Punjab could become a drug-free state.
In a post on X in Punjabi, Shah condemned the AAP government, alleging that under Bhagwant Mann, the youth of Punjab are falling prey to drugs, while those who voice their concerns about the issue find themselves in danger.
“I met the family of late Bikramjit Singh at their residence in Gurdaspur today and expressed my condolences over his death,” his post read.
Shah emphasised that Bikramjit lost his life for speaking out against the rampant drug trade in Punjab under what he termed the ‘aapda’ (disaster) government.
“The growing drug menace in Punjab and the rising audacity of drug traffickers have raised serious questions about the functioning of the AAP government,” Shah said in his post.
“We are committed to making Punjab, and the entire country, drug-free and safeguarding the future of our youth,” he added.
Shah next met the family of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur, who died by suicide after raising the issue of drugs last month.
Gulzar, a resident of Turbanjara village in Sangrur district’s Durba, allegedly took his own life on September 7. His family claimed that he consumed poison after being harassed and subjected to casteist slurs for questioning Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the supply of drugs in his locality.
Subsequently, the AAP government faced severe criticism from the opposition, which also sought a CBI probe into Gulzar’s death.
After the meeting, Gulzar’s son Shahbaz Singh told the media that Shah assured the family that justice would be served.
“The Union minister assured us that justice will be delivered”, said Shahbaz, adding that the minister told them that the culprits in this matter will not be spared. “We demanded a CBI probe into the matter,” he added.
During the meeting, Shahbaz sat beside a picture of his father. He said the family also demanded action against Finance Minister Harpal Cheema.
Mohanjit Singh, a resident of Sheron village in Sangrur, said the Union minister heard him patiently. “He also discussed ‘chitta’ (synthetic drugs) and stated it will be eradicated,” Mohanjit said, asserting it was notable for Shah to meet them while the chief minister did not.
Additionally, Mohanjit claimed that he was tortured by the Punjab Police in its custody following his detention after he waved a black flag from the rooftop of a house near the venue of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s ‘Lok Milni’ programme on September 2.
Later in Mansa, Shah met the family of slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota.
Known for raising his voice against the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, Jhota was shot in broad daylight inside a medical store at a busy marketplace in Mansa on October 13. Ashwani Kumar, the store owner who opened fire on Jhota after he questioned him for selling addictive drugs to an elderly man, was taken into custody from Rajasthan’s Salasar.
Jhota’s father, Bhim Singh, told reporters that Amit Shah had come to share their grief. “We said we want justice. He assured us that we will get justice,” he said.
After the meeting, senior Punjab BJP leader Sunil Jakhar shared that Jhota’s family has been assured that CBI officers would meet them on Wednesday to take their statements and gather further details.
Responding to Jhota’s father’s plea for Punjab to be saved from drugs, Shah told the family that he was visiting them because he understands their pain, Jakhar added.
Shah will also attend the “Ravan Dahan” ceremony at the Daresi grounds in Ludhiana for Dussehra celebrations.
(PTI News)
