Chandigarh: 22 October ,Mangat Singh Saidpur -Punjab Home Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, who talks about the NDPS Act being weak, should clarify how many of the 1,27,000 people arrested—as claimed by his police during the 'war against drugs'—were released right from the police stations? This question was raised by Prof. Prem Singh Chandumajra, senior leader and Core Committee member of Shiromani Akali Dal (Punarsurjit), during a press conference while strongly reacting to the Chief Minister's statement.
Prof. Chandumajra stated that the Chief Minister, who is also the state’s Home Minister, termed the NDPS Act weak and claimed that accused individuals get bail right from the police station under this law. He said that such a statement emboldens criminals. Prof. Chandumajra added that police chiefs claim that 1,27,000 people have been caught so far during the campaign against drugs. If arrests were made in such large numbers, why has the police failed to trace where the drugs are coming from? Even after so many arrests, if the police had succeeded in snapping the supply line, S. Parvinder Singh Jhota would not have had to make the supreme sacrifice.
It is enough to prove the police's claims of a 'war against drugs' false that a personnel from the anti-drone squad was caught with a heavy consignment of drugs. He further mentioned that while the whole of Punjab was staging a protest in Mansa against the inhuman act committed by a drug smuggler, the Chief Minister of Punjab, instead of listening to their grievances, went to France to celebrate his birthday. Even today, when there was a need for a serious discussion on this major issue during the Assembly session, the session was wrapped up in just nine minutes. Why is the government, which was formed on the guarantee of eliminating drugs in four months, fleeing from answering?
Prof. Chandumajra appealed to the country's Home Minister Amit Shah to investigate the truth behind the Chief Minister's statement regarding the release of accused from police stations, and whether drug smugglers were being favored under the pretext of calling the law weak. This should also be investigated by the CBI. Prof. Chandumajra stated that just as the Union Government is taking the drug issue seriously, it should similarly resolve Punjab's other issues immediately. These include the release of Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners), opening the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, conducting SGPC elections, and handing over Punjab's waters and capital city back to Punjab.
Prof. Chandumajra also shared with journalists that he had written a letter to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) demanding an impartial probe into the murder case of S. Parvinder Singh Jhota, on which the Commission has registered a case.
During today's press conference, alongside Prof. Chandumajra, S. Jagjit Singh Kohli (Office Secretary), S. Harbhajan Singh Shergill, S. Simranjit Singh Chandumajra, and S. Hardev Singh Harpalpur, among other leaders, were present.