875 wires recorded in 12 days

The Punjab government has registered 875 threads and arrested 1,188 drug dealers in the last 12 days as part of a special campaign, Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said on Sunday.

The campaign “Yudh Nashian Virudh” ​​(War Against Drugs) was launched on February 25 and gave “extraordinary results,” said the minister.

Cheema, who is the Minister of Finance of the State and the president of the anti-drug office, stressed the commitment of the Aam Aadmi (AAP) to eradicate the drugs in Punjab.

According to the minister, 875 threads were registered, 1,188 arrested drug dealers, RS 35 Lakh in confiscated and narcotic drug money, including 68 kg of heroin, 873 kg of poppy peel, 42 kg of opium and over 6.74 tablets in confiscated intoxication until March 8.

“In addition, a large-scale awareness campaign is the active mobilization of citizens to contribute to the construction of a drug and prosperous punjab,” he was quoted in a statement.

Cheema criticized the previous governments led by the Alliance Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) -BJP and the Congress for “Creating and Encourage the Drug Epidemic in Punjab”. He accused these parts of pushing the youth in drugs “as part of a deliberate strategy.”

“Before 2007, Punjab had never heard of synthetic drugs such as heroin or” chitta “. During the Sad-BJP regime, these drugs entered Punjab and destroyed our youth.

“Instead of providing jobs and opportunities, they designed a system to capture the young generation of addiction,” the cheese said.

Taking over the previous government of the Congress, he said: “Captain Amarinder Singh (former Congress leader who is now with BJP) took a false oath in 2017, promising to eradicate drugs in four weeks.

“In contrast, his government (Congress) deepened the connections with the drug ambulances. Even during the Covid-19 blocking, while the basic needs were inaccessible, the drug trafficking was blossomed in accordance with the Congress rule. This is why the people in Punjab rejected them in 2022 (the polls),” he said).

Cheema stressed that “the historical mandate of the AAP of 2022 was a rejection of SAD-BJP and the corrupt and anti-political policies.” “Since assuming the position, the government of chief minister Bhagwant Mann has prioritized the modernization of the police force and the consolidation of the law enforcement systems to ensure the justice,” he said. Cheema highlighted the “Stark” differences in terms of conviction rates under the NDPS law, emphasizing the efficiency of the AAP government. He said that, while the conviction rate according to the AAP mandate is 86 % impressive, it was significantly lower during the Congress regime at 58 % and even worse in the SAD-BJP government only 40 %.

Cheema also stressed that some districts have obtained a condemnation rates exceeding 90 %, such as blood at 93 %, Nawanshahr at 99 %and Ropar at 95 %.

“Within the SAD-BJP government, drug dealers often escaped the punishment due to delayed charges,” he added.

The government has also taken several proactive measures to combat the drug crisis, he said.

Over 1,028 meetings were held with students from universities and colleagues to raise awareness. In addition, the village information programs have been rapidly expanded, including the training of defense committees composed of officers and retired teachers to address drug -related problems.

“In a bold movement, the government has taken measures against drug ambulances by demolishing the houses of 22 major drug traffickers,” he said. Cheema has assured that “drug war” will not stop until each drug dealer is in prison or banished from Punjab.