There is no news of happiness coming from any side. On one hand, the youth is lying in the path of the poor under the influence of drugs, on the other hand, the youth who earned dollars in America by mortgaging land, selling their house ornaments and harassing their parents from all sides are returning to their homeland in handcuffs after being confronted with death. The wails of the parents and the utter sadness on the faces of the youth are heartbreaking. Robberies, murders and extortions have shaken the people of Punjab. There is no sound of happiness coming from any side. Agents, influential people and owners of wealthy houses receive ransom calls from foreign numbers. After a few days, a warning is given by firing on the house. In many places, children are also kidnapped to fulfill the demand. In many cases, people, realizing the protection of life and property and the serious dangers in the future, make a deal with the gangsters and fulfill their demands. In many cases, after appealing to the police, fearing the threats of the gangsters, security is taken, but even with the security, they could not save their lives. Many such cases have come to light in the areas of Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Faridkot and Kapurthala. It has been clearly revealed that drugs have not decreased, but the prices of drugs have increased. At present, the serious situation due to drugs has become such that many victim parents of Punjab have lost their lives at the hands of their drug addict sons. Many who raised their voice against drugs are falling victim to the bullets of smugglers. It is also a common discussion that on the one hand, people were martyred for the independence of the country and now they are being martyred for the prevention of ‘white’. The drug smugglers, who have become enraged, have even taken many police personnel hostage by confronting them at many places. Many police stations have been attacked with grenades and the deadly attacks on the police by the smugglers at many places are a sign of a deep conspiracy to break the morale of the people and the police.
Taking the purse of a woman on the road, snatching earrings, looting houses in broad daylight, killing people for making noise, vandalizing ATMs, bank robberies, and killings increase tension and imbalance in the social situation. What will happen to mental, physical, intellectual and economic development in such a volatile situation? An eight-year-old child was found in a state of intoxication in Bathinda. Similarly, a 10-year-old drug addict boy was kept chained by his parents in Patiala. Where innocent childhood is drowned in the swamp of drugs, where youth is controlled by drugs and commits violent acts to fulfill their needs, what will be the future of that state? The report of the National Crime Records Bureau is going to shock us all.
In the last few years, the number of people who die due to drug overdose has increased threefold. This figure is 2.21% of the population of Punjab, but the number of people who die due to drugs is 21% of the entire India, which is more than all the states. Confidential reports have revealed that drug smugglers send Rs 2 crore every day to smugglers in Pakistan and Afghanistan to buy drugs through hawala money (money laundering). The synthetic drugs being manufactured in Punjab itself are different from this.
The tragic aspect is also that the smugglers have formed an army of youth, educated unemployed, drug addicts, school students and many other people on the border, who are being used to supply drugs. These youths who have fallen into the hands of smugglers in large numbers can pose a threat to the law and order situation at any time. The tragic aspect is that in many places in Punjab, the collusion of police, jail officials, high officials and politicians regarding drugs has also come to light. It is a truth that when the doorman meets the thief, the tax collector becomes a fraudster, and those who protect life and property meet the murderers, then the prosperity of the country or the province is bound to be questioned. Well, when gangsters are interviewed in police stations, then the law and order situation will definitely be in turmoil.
Punjab DGP, while filing an affidavit in the High Court, said that after Lawrence Bishnoi’s interview at Kharar police station, cases of threats and extortion have increased in Punjab jails and this trend is continuing continuously. The affidavit also revealed that 300 cases of intimidation, extortion and kidnapping had come to light in the 9 months prior to the interview.
In the 9 months following the interview, this number increased to 324. Who is to be blamed for the increase in such heart-wrenching incidents? The irony is that the High Court is very serious about the law and order situation and has repeatedly taken the police officers and the government to task for this. The Supreme Court, while rejecting the interim bail of the dismissed AIG of the police, has taken the strong comments of Justices BR Gavai and PK Mishra to task, saying, “Police complicity in drug trafficking is a shameful act.” Similarly, the strong comments of Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul and Justice Shekhawat are also a shock to the government and the police department.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has considered drug trafficking a bigger crime than murder. It also said that those who raise their voice also have to lose their lives many times. The court also said that the fed up people are now defending themselves.
It is true that people from many villages have come together on a platform against drugs. They have also started vigilance to prevent drug peddlers but they complain that they are not getting full cooperation from the police in this regard. It is worth mentioning here that in Punjab, police personnel/
The number of policemen is estimated at 81,000. Of these, 73% are employed with VIPs, 10% are on duty at sit-ins and protests.
Twelve percent are engaged in traffic control and the remaining 5% are on duty at police stations. When people harass drug dealers or other criminals at night, people call the nearest police station for help and get the answer, “We are short of manpower. It is difficult to come at this time.” Thus, the initiative, courage and determination of the people against drugs and crime are eroded. Thomas Jefferson has written, “When a person gets the support of the people, he should be considered as a trust of the general public.” Considering the current situation in Punjab, people should think fifty times before handing over the keys of power to politicians.
