Amit Shah arrives in Punjab to meet anti-drug victims' families
Neeraj Bali
Chandigarh, Oct 20 (UNI) union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Punjab's Gurdaspur district on Tuesday to meet families affected by alleged drug-related violence, as the BJP accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of announcing a CBI investigation into anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota's murder under political pressure hours before the Home Minister's visit. Shah landed by helicopter in Batala before proceeding to meet the family of Bikramjit Singh, whose murder has sparked controversy over the state's drug problem.
The BJP has linked the killing to his opposition to drugs, although police have disputed that motive. The Home Minister is also scheduled to visit Toor Banjara village in Sangrur's Dirba area, where Gulzar Singh allegedly died by suicide following harassment after questioning Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. He will subsequently travel to Mansa to meet the family of Jhota, who was shot dead on October 13 after campaigning against alleged drug sales through medical stores. Shah will conclude his visit by attending Dussehra celebrations at Ludhiana's Daresi Ground, where a symbolic effigy representing the drug menace is scheduled to be burnt.
The visit comes amid growing protests over Jhota's killing, with his family refusing to perform his last rites until their demands, including an independent investigation, are met. Hours before Shah's arrival, Mann announced that his government would hand over the murder investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), ending an eight-day wait for the family's demand to be accepted. Punjab BJP vice-president Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa questioned the timing of the announcement. "I believe the Chief Minister felt that Amit Shah was coming and that the CBI inquiry might be ordered during his visit, so the state government decided to act before that," Bajwa said. "If the government had been serious, it would have ordered the inquiry the day after the incident," he added.
BJP leader and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused the AAP government of failing to control drug trafficking and gangster-related violence. "The people of Punjab will no longer be fooled by false drama," Sirsa said. "One case is not enough. All cases related to the drug trade must be investigated fairly, and the affected families must get justice," he added. The Mann government rejected the criticism, with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema accusing the BJP of "doing politics over dead bodies".
AAP leader Aman Arora also questioned the Centre's responsibility for preventing cross-border drug smuggling. Mann maintained that his government stood firmly with Jhota's family and was committed to taking stringent action against drug traffickers. Meanwhile, senior police officer M.F. Farooqui said extensive security arrangements had been made for Shah's visit. "We have made very comprehensive arrangements. Full security measures are in place here," Farooqui said, adding that approximately 1,200 to 1,300 security personnel had been deployed. The visit has intensified the political confrontation over Punjab's drug crisis, with the BJP questioning the state government's handling of the killings and the AAP accusing the opposition of politicising the tragedies. The CBI investigation, once formally transferred, will face scrutiny over whether it can establish the circumstances of Jhota's murder and address the concerns raised by his family.
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