CHANDIGARH: Questioning what had happened to the AAP government's statewide drug survey and challenging the government to release the findings, former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar today said it costed Rs 250 crore, involved 28,000 employees and covered 65 lakh families had yet not been made public.
He alleged that the survey's real objective was to study the drug trade commercially so that the party could take control of the illicit business and maximise its earnings.
Talking to the media, Jakhar claimed that the strategy had been devised by Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia rather than Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, asserting that only the duo was capable of hatching such a plan.
Jakhar said Rs 250 crore had been spent and 28,000 employees deployed to conduct the survey. He stated that 65 lakh families had been subjected to humiliation during the exercise, yet its report was nowhere to be seen. "Where is the report ?" he asked.
He alleged that the survey was intended neither to benefit Punjab nor to address its problems, but to tarnish the state’s image and systematically understand the workings of the drug trade so that its entire supply chain— from 'procurement to distribution’, from drugs entering Punjab to their eventual sale—could be taken over.
Jakhar said that had the Chief Minister visited villages, as he claimed he would, there would have been no need for a survey because residents themselves would have explained the situation. Instead, he alleged, the exercise had been used to develop a business model.
Connecting the cases, Jakhar referred to the DGP’s statement that pharmaceutical drugs now accounted for 80 per cent of substance abuse. He alleged that the government had accordingly drawn up a plan to take control of the entire pharmaceutical drug supply chain.
He further alleged that a drug inspector caught with substantial sums linked to corruption had been brought into the government’s fold, reinstated and appointed Drug Controller, bringing the business under its control.
Referring to another case, Jakhar said Nathana police station had seized four kilograms of heroin in 2023. During the investigation, he said, Harry—who was lodged in Ferozepur jail—had emerged as the principal accused.
According to Jakhar, Harry had been sentenced to 20 years in a widely reported Abohar murder case and faced seven other cases.
Jakhar alleged that the government had facilitated Harry’s parole in 2024 through the Fazilka Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police, after which he absconded and reached Dubai. He claimed that Harry was now running drug trafficking and extortion operations stretching from Abohar to Ludhiana, while the police had closed his file.
Describing a third link in the chain, Jakhar referred to constable Karam Singh, associated with the 'Baaz' anti-drone system. He said 25 kilograms of heroin had been recovered from him and that he had admitted to arranging another 24 consignments. Jakhar questioned whether the constable had acted alone or whether senior officers were also involved.
He also cited details of drug seizures by the Narcotics Bureau from sarpanches and leaders allegedly associated with AAP in the border region. He claimed that these links showed that people connected to the party controlled the procurement, transportation and sale of drugs in Punjab.
Jakhar said the cases pointed towards a larger network operating through a developing business model. He remarked that only gangsters and criminals were safe in Punjab today.
Referring to the cases mentioned above, he said individuals lodged in prisons had continued to organise drug and weapons operations. He added that the same drone routes used to bring in drugs were also being used to supply weapons that were claiming the lives of Punjab’s youth.
Jakhar said it was shocking that the Chief Minister had not considered it appropriate to visit Mansa even once to share the grief of Parvinder Singh’s family. He also questioned the Health Minister’s silence despite the numerous questions raised about pharmaceutical drug abuse and the drug inspector’s alleged role.
He therefore urged the CBI to extend the scope of its investigation into the Parvinder 'Jhota' case in Mansa to the Drug Controller’s office in Chandigarh. He said the investigation should first examine those directing the network, rather than beginning with medical shops, and then follow the connections wherever they led. This, he said, would enable the CBI to reach those responsible for turning the drug trade into a business model.
Jakhar further said he would write to the Union Home Minister seeking a CBI investigation into the cases involving constable Karam Singh and Harry, whose escape to Dubai he alleged had been facilitated by the government.
He added that these cases involved international trafficking in drugs and weapons and that the NIA possessed the capability to investigate them impartially and effectively.
Jakhar said the Bhagwant Mann government had lost public trust and alleged that an investigation into the Guri Chahal matter had not begun despite High Court orders.
