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, saying he had never felt so deeply saddened in life as he did while meeting them and also called out the AAP government for failing to curb the menace.
After the state government decided to transfer the anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota’s murder case in Mansa to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Shah asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to hand over the investigations in Sangrur and Batala incidents also to the central agency, saying this is what the families were demanding.
“The BJP will also approach a court to seek a CBI probe into these cases. We are determined to ensure justice,” said Shah.
Gulzar Singh, a resident of Turbanjara village in Sangrur district’s Dirba, allegedly took his own life on September 7, with his family claiming 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.
In Batala, Bikramjit Singh (40) was killed on October 15, with villagers claiming that he was targeted for opposing drug peddling in his area. However, police said the murder was the fallout of a scuffle between two groups over a mobile phone.
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.
Later, Shah also attended Dussehra celebrations in Ludhiana.
Shah’s visit assumes significance as the BJP has made the drug menace a central plank of its campaign and it is eyeing to form government in Punjab on its own in the assembly elections due early next year.
Hours before Shah’s visit to Mansa, Chief Minister Mann announced that the government has decided to transfer the murder case of Jhota to the CBI. Jhota was killed last week by a medical store owner.
Labelling the 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.
In Ludhiana, Shah said he had come to Punjab to offer solace to grieving families and added he had no political agenda.
Shah said he had come to remind the AAP government and its leaders that they promised to eradicate the drug trade within three months of coming to power, but it is growing.
Those who speak against the drug trade are either driven to suicide or killed, said Shah, attacking the AAP government.
Shah launched a blistering attack on Mann, accusing him of lacking seriousness and intent to tackle the drug problem.
Slamming the AAP government for accusing the BJP of allowing drugs to enter through Gujarat’s ports, Shah said drugs worth Rs 20,000 crore have been seized at ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Highlighting the track record of the BJP-led government at the Centre, he said the Modi government delivered what it said.
“Article 370 has been abrogated, and terrorism is nearing its end. We have eliminated Naxalism. We will not rest until the drug menace, too, is eradicated,” he further said.
“The symbol of evil before us today will soon be consigned to flames. Let us all resolve to burn the Ravana of drugs in Punjab as well and make the state drug-free by 2029,” he said.
Shah first visited Mari Panwan village in Batala, where he met the family of Bikramjit Singh, who was killed on October 15.
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 Mann, the youth of Punjab are falling prey to drugs, while those who voice their concerns about the issue find themselves in danger.
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.
The home minister next met the family of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur, who died by suicide after raising the issue of drugs last month.
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 Cheema.
Mohanjit Singh, a resident of Sheron village in Sangrur, said the Union minister heard him patiently. “He also discussed ‘chitta’ (synthetic drugs) and said it will be eradicated,” Mohanjit said, asserting it was notable for Shah to meet them while the chief minister did not.
Mohanjit had previously 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 Mann’s ‘Lok Milni’ programme on September 2.
Later in Mansa, Shah met the family of 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 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.
(PTI News)
