Bhola drug racket verdict

Almost six years after the multi-crore synthetic drug racket was busted by the Punjab Police, a special CBI court has convicted and sentenced Arjuna awardee wrestler and former DSP Jagdish Bhola and his accomplices in three cases. The racket had first hit the headlines in 2013, amid sensational allegations about the possible involvement of some prominent politicians. The drug menace had become a major issue during the 2014 Lok Sabha and 2017 Assembly elections as Bhola, the kingpin, kept ranting and raving about the ‘big fish’ involved in the drug trade. A few political leaders have been under the scanner of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, but nothing tangible has come to light so far.

Bringing Bhola and others to book is a welcome development, but it is still a job half done. The general perception is that the high and mighty operating behind the scenes have been able to cover their tracks pretty well. The investigating agencies need to dig deeper to dispel the notion that there’s some unfinished business. It’s an open secret that drug lords based in foreign countries have been pushing contraband into the border state. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had recently asked the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence why the extradition treaty between India and Canada had not been invoked to bring back three Punjabi men who were declared proclaimed offenders in a drug case in 2010 and have taken refuge in the Maple Country. The court had made it clear that those committing drug offences in India before fleeing to foreign countries and the ones abetting crimes under the NDPS Act in the country while living abroad had to be extradited.

Being a high-profile case with political connotations, the Bhola affair has remained under the public glare all these years. The proceedings in drug cases which have not hogged the limelight should be expedited too. That is the best way to create a strong deterrent for the traffickers and move one step closer towards the goal of a ‘nasha-mukt’ Punjab.