Shah Tells Mann to Hand Over Two More Anti-Drug Death Cases to the CBIਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੇ ਮਾਨ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਹਾ: ਦੋ ਹੋਰ ਕੇਸ ਵੀ ਸੀਬੀਆਈ ਨੂੰ ਸੌਂਪੋ

Union Home Minister Amit Shah closed his day-long Punjab visit on Tuesday with a direct public appeal to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann: hand over the investigations into the deaths of Bikramjit Singh of Gurdaspur and Gulzar Singh of Sangrur to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as well. Addressing a press conference in Ludhiana after meeting the three bereaved families, Shah said the state government would not be able to handle the two remaining cases, ANI reported.

What exactly did Shah demand in Ludhiana?

"And today, I also want to appeal to the Chief Minister: you will not be able to handle it. Hand over the remaining two cases to the CBI as well. That is also the demand of their family members," Shah said, according to ANI. He noted that Mann had, that morning, handed over one inquiry, the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa, to the CBI, and he promised the people of Punjab that in the case given to the Centre, whoever is found guilty, however powerful, would be tracked down and brought before a court. Taking a swipe at the Chief Minister, Shah remarked that Mann had done one good thing that morning after returning from celebrating his birthday.

What did the families tell him?

Shah said the ground reality described to him by the victims' families and local residents during his stops in Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Mansa was far more severe than what administrative files show. Bikramjit Singh was killed near Batala after confronting alleged drug peddlers, Gulzar Singh died by suicide in Sangrur after alleging harassment for questioning drug sales, and Jhota was shot dead inside a Mansa medical store on October 13. Media reports said Shah told Jhota's family that a CBI team would reach Mansa on Wednesday, October 21, to take up the investigation, and assured Gulzar Singh's family of justice within about two months. The families of Bikramjit and Gulzar have both demanded a CBI probe, which is the demand Shah was endorsing.

What else did Shah allege?

Shah also argued that narcotics worth more than Rs 20,000 crore had been seized at ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra, and questioned how drugs still reach Punjab in small quantities, alleging that such a trade cannot run without political protection. That is the Home Minister's allegation, made at a political press conference; the Punjab government rejects the charge. He repeated that those who raise their voice against drugs in Punjab are being murdered or driven to suicide, and that the Centre would pursue traffickers wherever they are.

How has the Punjab government responded?

The Aam Aadmi Party government has pushed back on two fronts. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the main sources of synthetic and pharmaceutical drugs flooding Punjab are in states governed by the BJP and Congress, and accused the Centre of turning a blind eye to manufacturers and suppliers while Punjab fights the trade on the ground. Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, welcoming Shah's visit earlier in the day, posed four questions of his own: why the Centre has failed to secure the 543 kilometre international border Punjab shares with Pakistan, how 3,000 kilograms of heroin reached Mundra Port in Gujarat, how chitta entered Punjab, and why gangster culture grew between 2007 and 2017 under the BJP and Akali Dal coalition. The state government says the Jhota transfer itself shows it stands with the families.

Whether the two remaining cases move to the CBI now rests with the state government, which has not announced any decision on them. Jugti covered Shah's family meetings in Batala, Sangrur and Mansa earlier today, and Mann's announcement handing the Jhota case to the CBI, and will update this story when Punjab responds to Shah's appeal.

Which two cases did Shah ask Punjab to hand over?

The killing of Bikramjit Singh in Gurdaspur district and the death of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur district. Both families have demanded a CBI investigation.

What did Shah promise on the Jhota case?

That the guilty, however powerful, would be tracked down and brought before a court. Reports said he told the family a CBI team would reach Mansa on October 21.

How did Punjab ministers reply?

Harpal Singh Cheema said drug supply sources sit in BJP and Congress ruled states, and Aman Arora asked why the Centre has not secured the 543 km Pakistan border or stopped heroin reaching Mundra Port.