Train from Pakistan carrying drug peddlers from across the border, money going into sponsoring elections, allegations of narco-terrorism and alleged involvement of politicians — drug menace in Punjab is as murky as ever.
The State, over the years, has emerged as the ‘land of drugs’, at least this is what seizures and arrest of drug lords suggest. But in reality, no one really knows the extent of the problem. The multi-crore drug haul, wherein the name of Punjab Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia surfaced, left the investigating agencies and others with hardly any dope on the scourge eating into the State’s youth.
Several studies on the deadly menace destroying State’s future generation, and repeated allegations by a former top cop that money from drugs goes into elections, indicate an unholy nexus between the politicians and drug peddlers. The seizures of drugs also indicate a spurt in activity during the elections, giving credence to theory that the polls are funded by narco-business.
If the drugs seizure in the run up to recently-held Parliamentary polls is any indication of this politicians-traffickers’ link, a whopping 18,579.824 kg poppy husk, 97.202 kg opium, 155.757 kg heroin, and 2,492 grams smack was recovered between March 5 — when the Model Code of Conduct came into force, and April 30 — the polling day.
During this period of two months, 42.933 kg drug powder, 1.44 lakh (1,43,917) capsules, 2.18 lakh (2,17,500) tablets, 1.46 lakh (1,46,175.135) litres illicit liquor, 2.30 lakh (2,29,707) bottles of country wine, and 60,156 kg of lahan was were also seized by Punjab police, flying squads and static surveillance teams of the Election Commission, besides other teams.
The figures assume significance as during the previous year, around two lakh kilos poppy husk, 1,500 kilos of intoxicating powder, and 65,000 injections, besides record 650 kg of heroin was recovered. When the senior Congress national leader Rahul Gandhi created a flutter by pointing out that seven out of 10 youngsters were addicted to drugs in Punjab during his post-Assembly election visit, the ruling SAD-BJP combine was quick to refute his assertions as “totally illogical, erroneous, politically-motivated and a deliberate conspiracy to tarnish the image of Punjabi youth and an onslaught on their dignity.”
Finding fault with Rahul Gandhi’s statement, the State Government somehow forget about its own “State disaster management plan” for 2010-11.
Citing “drug addiction” under the “hazard” category and dubbed the threat as “grievous”, the Plan stated, “Punjab’s grievous drug problem was revealed recently in a report by Guru Nanak Dev University in Punjab’s largest city, Amritsar, which declared that some 73.5 per cent of the State’s youth between 16 and 35 years were confirmed drug addicts”.
The menace’s astonishing extent was admitted by the Government before the Punjab and Haryana Court, in an affidavit some three years ago, claiming that 67 per cent of rural households in State have at least one drug addict.
It added that households survey conducted by International Classification of Diseases of the UN indicates that there is “at least one drug addict in 65 per cent of families in Majha (Amritsar area) and Doaba (Jalandhar area); and 64 per cent of families in Malwa (Bathinda area). Three out of 10 girls have abused one or the other drug. Nearly 66 per cent of school students take gutka or tobacco; and about seven out of 10 college students abuse one or the other drug”.
The degree of the problem can also be gauged from the fact that at least 5,000 drug addicts undergo treatment every year at 51 rehabilitation centres across the State. Just more than five years ago, their number in each centre was anywhere between 80 and 85, which has now gone up to 190 in some centres.
In fact, Punjab Government has also been candid enough to admit that the amount of narcotic substances seized during 2013 in the State is among the highest in the country.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal has asserted that Punjab accounted for roughly 60 per cent of all drugs seized in India in 2010-11, and during January 2012 State Assembly elections alone, the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Border Security Force (BSF) seized nearly 120 pounds of heroin intended for smack-addled voters.
Owing to its location, Punjab has also become a transit point for drugs sent to different parts of the country and also to overseas markets. Estimates suggest 40 per cent of drugs transited to the West via India travel through Punjab. Costing about `1 lakh per kg in Pakistan, it is received in Punjab at `10 lakh. It is sold at `5 crore per kg in the international market.
Figures indicated that drug trade has been growing rapidly in the State over past decade or so. The official data also underscored a rise in drug recoveries from 2006. The amount of heroin seized in 2013 rose to 650 kilos, as compared to the 53 kilos in 2006.
On the other hand, the police maintained that large quantity of drugs is finding its way into Punjab not only from Pakistan but also from neighbouring States. As far drug trade is concerned, Malwa belt continues to be dominant area. The Government officials admitted that four border districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, and Ferozepur are at increased risk of drug menace with Tarn Taran being most affected rural district and Amritsar being its urban
counterpart.
As per records, smack mainly comes from Pakistan and Nepal. But the regular supply of narcotics like opium, poppy-husk, smack, ganja and charas are smuggled into State from Delhi, Meerut, Sardulgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.A senior Government official claimed, “Punjab remains vulnerable because of its proximity to Golden Crescent — Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran as the fake currency and drugs are being transited through India, of which 40 per cent is transited through Punjab alone.”
Moreover, many cases and complaints of implicit involvement of policemen in these trades have also come into light. “The nexus among politicians, police officials and smugglers is responsible for ever-increasing menace of drugs and fake currency,” he added, requesting anonymity.He added, “And all that these politicians and leaders do is exploit the issue of drug menace for their political gains and targeting the opponents. They raise the issue as and when the elections come, and then forget while the people continue to suffer.”