Punjab Finance Minister and chairman of the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh Cabinet Sub Committee,’ Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, announced that the Safe Punjab Portal has played a key role in registering over 5,000 FIRs within a year. Launched in August 2024 by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as a WhatsApp chatbot (9779100200) to gather public tips on drug peddlers and hotspots, the portal has achieved an impressive 32% conversion rate, turning citizen inputs into concrete police action.
Speaking at Punjab Bhawan, Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the portal has emerged as one of India’s most effective public-police engagement tools, becoming a major intelligence source in the “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign — a state-wide anti-drug drive launched on March 1, 2025.
Sharing the campaign’s achievements, he revealed that 16,322 NDPS Act cases have been registered so far, leading to 25,552 arrests, demolition of 182 illegal properties of drug smugglers, and massive narcotics seizures — including 1,054 kg heroin, 21,534 kg poppy husk, 366 kg opium, and over three million banned tablets, capsules, and pills.
Minister Harpal Singh Cheema strongly criticized the previous SAD-BJP government for allegedly protecting the drug trade for a decade and accused the Congress government (2017–2022) of failing to act decisively. He asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party government has been committed to eradicating drugs from day one, with the “Yudh Nashian Virudh” initiative aimed at delivering the final blow. He added that several notorious drug kingpins are now in jail, and the recent arrest of Joga Singh is expected to lead to the capture of other major figures in the narcotics network.