Anti-Drone Claims 'Bogus', Punjab Burning in Drugs: Sunil Jakhar Confronts DGP Gaurav Yadav

Escalating a direct political offensive against the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government over the persistent narcotics crisis in the border state, senior BJP leader Sunil Jakhar held a high-stakes meeting with Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav in Chandigarh on Monday, October 19, 2026. Addressing the press following the representation, Jakhar alleged that narcotics continue to be sold openly on the ground across towns and villages, while administrative authorities remain occupied with cosmetic announcements and inflated performance statistics. Delivering a sharp rebuke over Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's overseas birthday celebration in Paris, the BJP leader remarked that while the state is engulfed in the flames of drug addiction, the head of the government is vacationing abroad. Jakhar also challenged the credibility of the state's technical border surveillance, terming official drone seizure numbers bogus and questioning the real-world operational efficacy of the deployed anti-drone infrastructure.Ineffective Border Surveillance: Jakhar Calls Anti-Drone Seizure Data 'Bogus'The former state BJP chief raised serious doubts over the government's cross-border interception mechanisms and narrative:Discrepancy in Official Figures: Jakhar alleged a massive divide between official press statements claiming record drone intercepts and the actual availability of illicit narcotics in local distribution networks.Questioning Border Interception Utility: Pointing to steady consignments crossing international frontiers, he questioned the tangible impact of expensive anti-drone systems if contraband continues to infiltrate border belts unchecked.Ground Realities vs Paper Claims: Emphasizing that border surveillance cannot be evaluated through sanitized administrative data alone, he demanded verifiable accountability regarding how many cross-border drop-offs were actively neutralized before hitting streets.Inaction in Lovepreet's Death: Sister Amandeep Confronts Police LeadershipAccompanying the family of a deceased victim during the high-level meeting, Jakhar spotlighted deep systemic negligence at the grassroots policing level:Unheeded Early Complaints: Amandeep, the sister of deceased youth Lovepreet, revealed that the family had lodged written complaints against active local drug peddlers well before her brother's tragic death, but local police stations failed to initiate preventive steps.Month-Long Administrative Silence: Formal complaints were dispatched to the DGP office and the concerned Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) via email and speed post on September 19, yet zero enforcement was witnessed, forcing the family to seek a direct confrontation after an entire month.Offer to Expose Drug Hotspots: Demanding immediate confiscation and forensic analysis of local CCTV footage, Amandeep declared her readiness to personally lead investigating officers to operational peddling points operating under the nose of local police beats.The Rajjit Connection: Questions Raised Over Dismissed Cop's PropertiesJakhar demanded clarity over high-profile enforcement cases involving disgraced law enforcement personnel:Selective Enforcement Allegations: Raising the controversial matter of dismissed police officer Rajjit Singh, Jakhar questioned why conclusive enforcement action had not been executed at his residential premises if the administration was genuinely committed to breaking the police-peddler nexus.Demanding Action Reports: He urged the state home department to clarify the tangible steps taken to attach illicit assets and apprehend influential figures implicated in organized narcotics distribution networks.Illegal Pregabalin Sales: Demanding Scrutiny of Pharmacies and Police StationsTurning attention toward the synthetic and prescription drug trade, Jakhar demanded institutional accountability from enforcement directors:Defunct Monitoring Orders: Highlighting an administrative order issued in Sri Muktsar Sahib in September 2024 restricting the OTC distribution of Pregabalin capsules without valid medical prescriptions, he questioned why compliance mechanisms collapsed over the subsequent two years.Auditing Medical Outlets: Jakhar demanded public disclosure from the DGP and Chief Secretary on the exact number of pharmaceutical inspections conducted between 2024 and 2026, alongside prosecution metrics against rogue chemists.Fixing Field Responsibility: Concluding his address, Jakhar insisted that Station House Officers (SHOs) and regional Drug Inspectors must be held personally liable for drug sales within their jurisdictions, asserting that winning the anti-narcotics campaign demands rigorous field enforcement rather than press releases.