In the largest-ever exercise of its kind in the country, Punjab Government on Wednesday started dope testing of over seven lakh candidates who have applied for posts of constables in the Punjab Police.
However, the Punjab police recruitment drive is apparently proving wrong the allegations of Udta Punjab. Day one of the mass drive at least showed that Punjab was not hooked to drugs after all, with just about four per cent aspirants testing positive for dope.
The results come as a shot in the arm of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who has all along been claiming that the situation was not as alarming as being projected in movies, and by rival political parties.
“The ongoing dope test in police recruitment will prove that not many Punjabis are addicts,” claimed Sukhbir, while interacting with the media on Wednesday in Chandigarh.
As per the reports received by The Pioneer, nearly 40 candidates have been tested positive for dope out of the total 1,000 examined on the first day of the recruitment drive.
This comes against the Congress’ claims of 70 per cent Punjabis being addicted to drugs.
A parallel recruitment drive was underway in the State at Patiala, Faridkot, Muktsar, Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib, while it was cancelled at Amritsar. During the drive, a transparent procedure for testing the candidates for doping has been adopted by the police authorities.
Though the authorities concerned failed to provide the exact and aggregate figures, about nine candidates, out of total 240 tested for dope, have been reported positive in Faridkot, 11 out of 240 in Muktsar, nine out of 276 in Patiala, six out of 230 tested positive for dope test during the police recruitment in Fatehgarh Sahib. At Jalandhar too, three flunked the test.
Pleading innocence, one of the candidate, tested positive, claimed he took loose medicine from a medial store as he was not feeling well, and could have interfered with his dope test.
The authorities concerned maintained that those candidates who failed the preliminary test would again undergo a follow-up test to confirm the presence of banned substance.
“We will be conducting dope testing on all candidates. If the sample of a candidate fails, another test will be conducted to confirm things. Rest of the candidates will be allowed to proceed with the recruitment process,” said Amritsar Police Commissioner Amar Singh Chahal.
To prove its critics wrong, the SAD-BJP led Punjab Government announced to conduct dope test of more than seven lakh candidates who have applied for 7,416 posts of constables in the Punjab Police - notably the largest-ever exercise of its kind in the country.
Sukhbir Badal, who also holds the Home Ministry, said: “I have invited all media to come and see the dope testing being done for the police recruitment. The recruitment process started today. We want to show to the country that Punjab is being maligned by vested interests in the name of drugs.”
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Now, dope testing on Punjab cops
He said the State Government had taken the decision to conduct dope tests on applicants for police jobs to bring out the reality regarding the drug addiction menace in Punjab, as was being alleged by Opposition parties.
Earlier, Sukhbir had maintained that some nefarious elements were trying day-in and day-out to defame Punjab and Punjabis but the SAD-BJP Government would not let it happen.
He had stated the results would be a “tight slap on the face of anti-Punjab forces who are hell bent to defame Punjabis”.
The ruling SAD, which has been in power in Punjab since 2007 in alliance with the BJP, and its leadership is being openly accused by the opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of patronising multi-million dollar drugs mafia in the State.
Studies, in recent years, have indicated widespread substance abuse by youth and in rural and urban areas of the State.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had, some three years ago, claimed that drugs abuse was rampant in Punjab with 70 per cent people being addicted, that actually started the debate on the issue.