CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into drug operations allegedly run from prisons and an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into the black money linked to the trade.
In a letter dated October 17, Jakhar said the situation in Punjab continued to deteriorate because of drugs. He cited the recent incident in Mansa in which anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot for opposing the sale of drugs.
Referring to Jhota’s murder in Mansa, Jakhar said that when a drug inspector who had served in the same district was arrested two years ago, the Director General of Police (DGP) had claimed that he was the kingpin of a gang operating from prison and that substantial assets belonging to him had been uncovered.
In his letter, Jakhar stated that in 2024, the Punjab Police arrested a drug inspector who had served in Mansa and uncovered assets worth crores of rupees.
These included Rs 7.09 crore in 24 bank accounts, two bank lockers, Rs 1.49 crore in cash, 260 grams of gold, foreign currency and immovable property worth Rs 2.40 crore.
The Punjab Police chief had himself stated that the drug inspector was acting as the kingpin of a gang linked to imprisoned drug traffickers and was facilitating the sale of drugs.
Jakhar further wrote that the case had revealed a drug trafficking network operating from prisons, links to cross-border drug trafficking, and movable and immovable assets worth crores of rupees, warranting a money laundering investigation. Despite this, the Punjab government neither sought an NIA investigation nor referred the case to the ED, even though it involved potential money laundering.
Instead, after the drug inspector was granted bail, the Aam Aadmi Party government not only reinstated him but also appointed him to an important position at his department’s headquarters. Given the network operating from prisons and the substantial money and property uncovered, the case should also have been referred to the NIA and ED for investigation, he said.
Jakhar said the Punjab government itself acknowledged that the misuse of pharmaceutical drugs was currently a major problem. Seeking NIA and ED investigations into the case involving drug inspector Seesam Kumar, he said only an investigation could identify the individuals behind the gang.
He further alleged that, despite his arrest in a drug-related case, the inspector had become a source of illicit income for the Aam Aadmi Party government. He said the investigation should also establish at whose behest the inspector had been given an important posting. He called for action against what he described as a drug trade operating from prisons under government patronage and for the exposure of the money laundering linked to it.
Meanwhile, Ashwani Sharma, Pathankot MLA and former Punjab BJP president, has criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party government over the murder of Parvinder Singh Jhota, who had raised his voice against drugs in Mansa.
Speaking in Pathankot, Sharma said the murder had sparked outrage across Punjab. People were taking to the streets to express their anger, and the public was demanding answers from the government, particularly Chief Minister Mann. However, instead of responding to the public’s questions, the CM was heading to France.
Sharma said this showed that the CM was not serious about the matter and was merely going through the motions. He added that it would have been better if Mann had answered the public’s questions instead of travelling abroad.
Sharma said the drug problem in Punjab continued to become increasingly serious. The safety of those who raised their voices against drugs had also become a major concern. The Jhota murder case had further intensified public anger, with people wanting to know who would take responsibility for protecting those fighting against drugs.
The BJP MLA said that while the Punjab government claimed to be running the ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ (War Against Drugs) campaign, its own ministers and MLAs were allegedly suppressing those who spoke out against drugs. He said Mann claimed that the police had complete freedom to act against drugs and that the government did not interfere in their operations. However, he questioned why no action had been taken so far against Aam Aadmi Party MLAs accused of having links with drug traffickers.
He said that before coming to power, the Aam Aadmi Party had made major promises to make Punjab drug-free and had assured the public of strict action against drugs. The people of Punjab were now demanding accountability from the government for its promises.
