Chairman of the Yudh Nashian Virudh Cabinet Sub-Committee and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema reaffirmed on Friday that the Punjab government, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s leadership, is intensifying its crackdown on drug trafficking with a strict zero-tolerance policy. As the campaign for complete drug eradication gains momentum, he asserted that no individual involved in drug trade or protecting offenders will be spared, regardless of their status or influence.
In a press statement issued after his two-day visit to districts including Rupnagar, SBS Nagar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, and Tarn Taran to strengthen the Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign, Harpal Singh Cheema reported significant enforcement actions. From March 1 to March 5, authorities registered 530 FIRs, arrested 697 individuals, and seized substantial quantities of narcotics, including 42 kg of heroin, 15 kg of opium, and 41,027 medical drugs.
Harpal Singh Cheema detailed various anti-drug operations being carried out across the state, including targeted raids on known traffickers and smugglers, searches in hotspots under senior police supervision, inspections of jails for illegal mobile phones, and monitoring of chemist shops. Public engagement is also being emphasized through awareness programs in schools and colleges, as well as community outreach meetings under the anti-drug initiative. Harpal Singh Cheema stressed that authorities have been instructed to intensify their crackdown on banned substances, with drug inspectors playing a key role in enforcement.
Highlighting the improved legal action against drug offenders, Harpal Singh Cheema noted that the conviction rate in NDPS cases has surged from 58% under the previous Congress government to 86% in the last three years of the AAP-led administration, with an ambitious target of achieving a 100% conviction rate. He commended SBS Nagar and Rupnagar districts for their remarkable conviction rates of 99% and 95%, respectively.
The Finance Minister also criticized previous governments, alleging that the synthetic drug Chitta was virtually unknown in Punjab before the SAD-BJP regime (2007-2017). He denounced former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s symbolic oath at Talwandi Sabo as ineffective in curbing drug abuse and accused Charanjit Singh Channi of failing to make any substantial impact in addressing the drug crisis.