Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Panjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) working president Ashwani Sharma, and Radha Soami Satsang Beas chief Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon joined the anti-drug awareness walk in Ferozepur led by Panjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on 10 Feb. The BJP and SAD top brass has been keeping a distance ever since the alliance of both the parties broke in 2020 over the now repealed pro-corporate farm laws. This was also the first time the dera (sect) chief, considered close to both SAD and BJP, has joined a public rally. Dhillon had also met SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia twice in jail in recent months. After the foot march, he held a meeting with Indian National Congress (INC)-turned-BJP leader Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi. INC alleged Kataria was attempting to help the SAD and its president regain political relevance. Speculation is rife over a potential SAD-BJP alliance ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. Meanwhile, in Amritsar, a 26-year-old youth identified as Akash allegedly died due to a drug overdose on 13 Feb. Akash was a graduate and a football player who had been struggling with drug addiction for some time. His father Ashok Saini who serves as a Home Guard in Panjab Police said, he had admitted his son to de-addiction centers several times to help him recover. Saini alleged drugs are being sold openly and claimed that despite Panjab government's War on Drugs, strict action against drug traffickers is lacking. In less than 24 hours after Saini’s statement, the Amritsar Police Commissionerate not only uploaded video of him retracting his statement on its social media handle, but also uploaded a retired cop’s statement ‘condemning Saini for levelling such allegations’. The police said so far no link to drug use has been confirmed in the matter. Panjab INC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said, 'Merely lodging cases on drugs with police will not end the fight on drugs. The focus should be on treating addicts through a comprehensive de-addiction process.' Concurrently, the Panjab police’s 72-hour Operation Prahar (strike) 2 ended 11 Feb. Police teams conducted raids at 8,278 locations linked to wanted criminals and arrested 3,260 individuals (earlier coverage).
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