The Indian Union minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) that according to Border Security Force, 294 drones were seized in Panjab during 2024. These drones, mostly from Pakistan, carry drugs and arms into Indian territory. As part of the ‘War on Drugs’ in Panjab, on 18 Mar, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal announced a Jan Andolan (People's Movement) from 1 Apr to unite over 30 million Panjabis against drugs, promising a drug census and urging citizens to report traffickers. Kejriwal warned alleged Pakistan-based suppliers that anti-drone technology would soon target every illicit incursion, insisting the Panjab government will show no mercy to high-profile smugglers. Meanwhile, in Tarn Taran district, police arrested three alleged Landa gang members following a shootout, seizing a pistol and 500 grams of heroin. In Zirakpur a wanted gangster, Lavish Grover, opened fire before being wounded and apprehended; authorities recovered illegal weapons and suspected narcotics at the scene. In another disturbing case, Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur suspended a Station House Officer and a head constable following the suicide of Harry, a youth detained for seven hours in a drug inquiry. Harry’s family accused officers of demanding a bribe and threatening him. CCTV footage shows police using force on Harry (no other name cited) during his arrest. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has criticized recent directives assigning arrest targets to police, warning that innocent people might be falsely implicated in efforts to meet quotas. Citing a statement from Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, ‘the performance of police officials would be assessed based on assigned targets in the ongoing anti-drug drive,’ the court decried such policies as fostering a ‘barbaric situation’ rather than curbing narcotics. The statement is similar to the targets police were assigned during the militancy years 1978-93 which led to the rise in extrajudicial encounter killings.
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