Recent attacks on anti-drug vigilantes and activists, besides the cops, have shone a spotlight on the loopholes in the AAP government’s high-decibel ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ campaign. Those raising their voice against the free flow of drugs are not only being silenced by the deep-rooted drug mafia but also allegedly by the state police officials. This has cast a shadow over the government’s much-publicised war on drugs.
Parvinder Singh Jhota, just moments before he was killed, had gone live on social media, confronting the accused pharmacist over the alleged open sale of banned synthetic drugs.
The latest incident, which questions the widespread corruption in the state’s health and police departments and has shell-shocked the entire state, has been reported in Mansa. Drug addict turned anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead in broad daylight not by the drug peddler of the mafia but by a pharmacy shop owner who was openly selling drugs. He is not the only pharmacist found selling illegal drugs; dozens of others were arrested on similar charges in the past. Surprisingly, it wasn’t local police or the health department officials but an activist who got an FIR registered against the accused. Joint action by all departments is taken in such cases, and several actions are already underway in this regard. A special programme related to drugs is being organised on the 16th, in which all officers, both senior and junior, will participate. The terror unleashed by the drug cartels isn’t just restricted to civilian activists – it has directly penetrated the state’s armed shield. In a chilling pattern that has created an atmosphere of deep fear and demoralisation within the police force, over half a dozen cops and home guards have been shot dead in recent months by criminal syndicates tied to drug networks.
The infamous Neha Shoree murder by a Mohali pharmacist in 2029 is still fresh as the family continues to fight the same in court. The victim Jhota was keeping an eye on the pharmacist and had paraded him publicly with a shoe garland in 2023 when he was found selling banned drugs.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, himself accused of silencing another activist, Gulzar, in his own constituency, condemned the incident but said it was ‘personal rivalry’ that led to the incident. Regarding the continuously increasing drug-related cases in Mansa, the IG of the Bathinda Range held a press conference and said that whenever any information related to drugs comes to the attention of his department, action is taken by them. He said that as far as allopathic drugs are concerned, the police also have certain limitations, and some other departments are involved as well. Speaking about the murder case of Parvinder Singh Jhote, the IG said that wherever the police receive accurate information, action is taken by the police at that location. He also said that whenever Parvinder Singh Jhote has raised such issues related to drugs, the police have also taken action.
