Latest news with #YudhNashianVirudh
Hindustan Times
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Punjab all set to launch 2nd phase of ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh' from July
Buoyed over the success and public response of the first phase of its anti-drug campaign 'Yudh Nashian Virudh', the Punjab government is all set to launch the second phase of the campaign from the next month with more focus on de-addiction and rehabilitation. Buoyed over the success and public response of the first phase of its anti-drug campaign 'Yudh Nashian Virudh', the Punjab government is all set to launch the second phase of the campaign from the next month with more focus on de-addiction and rehabilitation. (Representational image) A top Punjab government functionary, who strategises this campaign, said the government was satisfied with the first phase of the campaign which on Thursday completed 110 days starting from March 1 and the public feedback of the campaign has been encouraging. 'The entire top leadership of the party got positive feedback about the campaign during the electioneering for the Ludhiana West bypolls and praised state government's efforts to curb the drug menace. With barely one and half months left for the assembly polls, the sustained success of the campaign against drugs can be our strongest point,' a senior party functionary said. In this second phase, according to the senior government functionary quoted above, focus would be on de-addiction inside jails and linking rehabilitation centres of the government to skill centres. 'Till now, we have focused mainly on catching smugglers and putting him behind bars. There is no denying the fact that we are lagging in the de-addiction and rehabilitation part. Our full focus will be on these two aspects in the second phase,' Notably, in the first phase, government had decided to implement few key features of Manipur's policy on de-addiction and rehabilitation of addicts, including adopting community-based detoxification camp, home detoxification, counselling centres and peer-led intervention for those users who are not willing for residential/in-house treatment services. However, it could not be implemented as the focus of the first phase remained on enforcement and catching the suppliers to reach the supply. In the second phase, the technical education department is also being roped in to link the rehabilitation centres with skill development programmes. A senior government functionary said the second phase focuses more on accused lodged inside the jail, especially those who were caught for the first time with non-commercial quantity that is less than 5 gm in case of heroin. Initially, the Punjab government has set May 31 as the deadline to wipe out drugs from the state. However, on the last date of the deadline, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, while highlighting achievements of the first phase of the campaign, had said that the police had choked the supply line of the drugs but a lot more needs to be done to sustain the achievement of the first phase. Special DGP (law and order) Arpit Shukla, who looks after 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' campaign on the aspect of Punjab Police, said because of police's continuous strictness on peddlers, availability of drugs has reached a minimal point. 'We are making our best to sustain the movement as daily cordon and search operations are being done. Daily wise reports about raids, arrests and recovery are being analysed in routine to see the trend by our experts,' said Shukla. In the first phase of 110 days till today, Punjab Police have arrested 18,236 smugglers.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Punjab Police intensifies vehicle checking at inter-state borders to catch drug, liquor smugglers
Chandigarh, The Punjab Police on Friday carried out a special operation at 10 inter-state border districts aimed at checking all the vehicles entering or exiting the state to keep a tab on drug traffickers and illegal liquor smugglers. Punjab Police intensifies vehicle checking at inter-state borders to catch drug, liquor smugglers During the operation, conducted simultaneously in 10 districts from 6 am to 2 pm, all the SSPs of border districts were directed to organise joint 'naka' operations at strategic places and mobilise a maximum number of manpower. Sharing details, Special DGP Arpit Shukla said that well-coordinated strong 'nakas' involving over 900 police personnel were set up under the supervision of Inspectors/DSPs at least 93 entry and exit points of 10 districts, which share boundaries with four border states and UT Chandigarh. The 10 inter-state border districts were Pathankot, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Fazilka, Rupanagar, SAS Nagar, Patiala, Sangrur, Mansa, Hoshiarpur and Bathinda. According to an official statement, Shukla said that as many as 3,180 vehicles entering or exiting the state were checked, of which 367 were challaned and seven were impounded during the operation. Apart from this, police teams have continued its cordon and search operation against drugs on day 111 of the ongoing anti-drugs "Yudh Nashian Virudh" campaign, and conducted raids at 505 locations on Friday. During the raids, 127 drug smugglers were arrested after registration of 98 FIRs across the state. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached 18,372 within 111 days, the statement said. Shukla that the Friday's raids have resulted in recovery of 4.2 kg heroin, 3 kg opium, 118 kg poppy husk and ₹ 11,170 drug money from the possession of arrested smugglers. He informed that over 200 police teams, comprising over 1,500 police personnel, under the supervision of 101 gazetted officers have conducted raids across the state and checked as many as 543 suspicious persons during the day long operation. He said that Punjab Police has devised a comprehensive strategy and such operations will be continued till the scourge of drugs eradicated from the state. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Drug money trail': Punjab BJP chief Jakhar writes to CM, seeks probe to track down end beneficiaries
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Monday wrote to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a probe under the supervision of the high court chief justice into the 'drug money trail' to track down its 'powerful end beneficiaries'. 'It is imperative to follow the money in the drug money trail, without which the exercise to root out drugs from Punjab is not only futile but a farce as well,' Jakhar said. 'Arresting thousands of drug addicts and small players will not make much difference. The elephant in the room has to be addressed,' he added. Under the 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' campaign launched by the AAP government in Punjab three-and-a-half months back, more than 17,000 drug smugglers have been arrested, and large consignments of drugs have been seized. 'The flow of money has to be established to catch the big fish and arrest the end beneficiaries, be it politicians across party lines or officials. The drug cartels in Punjab cannot thrive without some or the other kind of patronage,' Jakhar said. 'I am writing to you with hope and caution to draw your attention towards the criticalness of an urgent probe under the direct supervision of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu to track down the mighty and powerful end beneficiaries in the drug money trail, a primary source that has tormented Punjab,' the BJP leader said. 'This is important if your government wants to establish its credibility and resolve in its fight against drugs,' he added. Jakhar urged Mann to write to the chief justice, seeking his intervention to conduct a 'time-bound' probe by a credible agency, or multiple agencies, under his supervision to uncover the end beneficiaries in the drug money trail. Recovery of narcotics in Punjab goes into several thousand crores of rupees, 'which underlines the rot that exists', Jakhar said. 'The fortunes of several Punjab politicians have turned in the past few years, which cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence. It raises a lot of stench and suspicion on the source of funding,' he said. The BJP leader also claimed that MLAs who rode bicycles now own luxury cars worth crores of rupees. 'Many have farmhouses spread over many acres. Since the quantum of money involved in the drug money trail is colossally huge, it reeks of money laundering, which can be probed by the Enforcement Directorate, or as deemed fit by the chief justice, since it could involve the high and mighty,' Jakhar said. Ministers, MLAs, party presidents, party in-charges, and leaders of all hues should be part of the investigation, he added. 'As the state BJP president, I offer myself to be the first to be probed as a mark of my and my party's sincerity and earnestness,' Jakhar said. 'Not just drug money trail, the probe should also include in its scope the trail of illicit money from mining and sand mafia so that the guilty can be brought to book,' he added.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Yudh Nashian Virudh: 102 peddlers arrested, 105kg poppy husk and heroin seized
As part of the ongoing 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' initiative to combat the drug menace in Punjab, the state police on Monday arrested 102 drug smugglers and recovered 688 grams of heroin, 105 kg of poppy husk, 2,164 intoxicant pills, and ₹26,910 in drug money from their possession. Monday's operation marked 107th day of the anti-drug drive, during which a total of 17,749 drug smugglers have been arrested. The statewide crackdown, conducted under the supervision of director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, involved over 200 police teams and 1,400 police personnel. Police raided 479 locations and checked 504 suspicious individuals, leading to registration of 76 FIRs. The operation is being carried out in all 28 police districts in Punjab. Special DGP law and order Arpit Shukla said that the state government is executing a three-pronged strategy—enforcement, de-addiction and prevention—to eradicate drugs. As part of the de-addiction drive, 55 individuals were convinced to undergo rehabilitation and treatment on Monday.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Probe drug money trail to catch big fish: Punjab BJP chief Jakhar to CM Mann
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Monday wrote to chief minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a probe under the supervision of the high court chief justice into the drug money trail to track down its powerful end beneficiaries. 'It is imperative to follow the money in the drug money trail, without which the exercise to root out drugs from Punjab is not only futile but a farce as well,' Jakhar said. 'Arresting thousands of drug addicts and small players will not make much difference. The elephant in the room has to be addressed,' he said. Under the Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign launched by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab three-and-a-half months ago, more than 17,000 drug smugglers have been arrested, and large consignments of drugs have been seized. 'The flow of money has to be established to catch the big fish and arrest the end beneficiaries, be it politicians across party lines or officials. The drug cartels in Punjab cannot thrive without patronage,' Jakhar said. 'I'm writing to you with hope and caution to draw your attention towards the criticalness of an urgent probe under the direct supervision of Punjab and Haryana high court chief justice Sheel Nagu to track down the mighty and powerful end beneficiaries in the drug money trail, a primary source that has tormented Punjab,' the BJP leader said. 'This is important if your government wants to establish its credibility and resolve in its fight against drugs,' he added. Jakhar urged Mann to write to the chief justice, seeking his intervention to conduct a time-bound probe by a credible agency, or multiple agencies, under his supervision to uncover the end beneficiaries in the drug money trail. Recovery of narcotics in Punjab goes into several thousand crores of rupees, which underlines the rot that exists, Jakhar said. 'The fortunes of several Punjab politicians have turned in the past few years, which cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence. It raises a lot of stench and suspicion on the source of funding,' he said. The BJP leader claimed that MLAs who rode bicycles now own luxury cars worth crores of rupees. 'Many have farmhouses spread over several acres. Since the quantum of money involved in the drug money trail is colossally huge, it reeks of money laundering, which can be probed by the Enforcement Directorate, or as deemed fit by the chief justice, since it could involve the high and mighty,' Jakhar said. Ministers, MLAs, party presidents, party in-charges, and leaders of all hues should be part of the investigation, he added. 'As the state BJP president, I offer myself to be the first to be probed as a mark of my and my party's sincerity and earnestness,' Jakhar said. 'Not just drug money trail, the probe should also include in its scope the trail of illicit money from mining and sand mafia so that the guilty can be brought to book,' he added.
