Stop protecting drug traffickers: Punjab BJP tells DGP 

Chandigarh, Oct 19 (IANS) Former Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar on Monday urged the AAP government to stop protecting drug traffickers and take firm action to curb the drug menace. 

Expressing anguish over the Chief Minister’s visit to France to celebrate his birthday while Punjab burns in the furnace of drugs, he said the people of Punjab were keeping account of every moment. 

Jakhar was speaking to the media here after meeting the Director General of Police (DGP), accompanied by Amandeep Kaur, the sister of Lovepreet Singh, and other family members, to seek justice for Lovepreet, who was found dead in Abohar on September 14. During the press conference, the family alleged that despite submitting complaints, they had received no justice in Lovepreet’s death case. 

Questioning the Punjab government’s anti-drug policy and the accountability of the police administration, Jakhar warned that the matter would be taken to court if appropriate action was not taken within the next five to seven days. 

Lovepreet Singh’s sister, Amandeep Kaur, alleged that drug traffickers had murdered her brother on September 14 and dumped his body in bushes.

She said the family had sent complaints to the SSP and the Punjab DGP through email and speed post on September 19, but no action had followed. 

The family alleged that drugs were being sold openly in the area and that those selling them were also issuing threats. They further claimed that reports had emerged of even minors being involved in selling drugs in the locality. 

Jakhar said Amandeep Kaur had gathered CCTV footage related to the case through her own efforts, and that it had been handed over to the Punjab DGP on a pen drive. 

He alleged that reports had also emerged of the police intimidating those from whom the footage had been collected and having it deleted, instead of taking action. 

He demanded that all available digital evidence in the case be preserved and that the investigation, including forensic examination of the evidence, be conducted in accordance with due legal process, so that no crucial evidence was damaged and the truth behind the death could emerge. 

Referring to the Punjab DGP’s announcement on April 28, 2025, about holding the SHO of the police station concerned accountable in cases involving drug recoveries, Jakhar asked: “If accountability had been fixed to prevent drug trafficking, where are the results?” 

Jakhar said that after district magistrates issued orders banning pregabalin, no official had bothered to visit pharmacies to check whether those orders were being followed. 

He alleged that the government had confined itself to issuing official orders and completing paperwork. He said Parwinder Singh Jhona would still be alive today had the government acted in time to curb the misuse of pharmaceutical drugs. 

Jakhar also questioned the measures being taken to prevent cross-border drug trafficking.

Questioning the effectiveness of the anti-drone system called “Baaz Akh”, reportedly installed at a cost of approximately Rs 52 crore, he said 25 kg of heroin had been seized from a constable deployed with the system. 

He asked whether the constable was operating on his own or whether senior officers or a political leader were also involved. 

--IANS 

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