64 arrests/day, Punjab’s drug war hits record high

Punjab is witnessing record-breaking drug arrests this year, with enforcement efforts intensifying sharply following the Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi poll debacle. The police have arrested an average of 64 suspects daily (totalling 5,835 by March 31), surpassing the previous high of 47 daily arrests (17,001 total) in 2014.

Cracking numbers (till March 31)

4,192 cases filed | 5,835 arrests | 383.4-kg heroin/smack seizure | 193.5-kg opium | 10,358-kg poppy husk | 1.41-kg cocaine | 1.56-kg ICE | 16-kg intoxicant powder | 15-lakh tablets/capsules | Rs 73.9-lakh drug money

The current “Yudh Nasheyan Virudh” operation has already netted 4,706 arrests in March alone, dwarfing last year’s daily average of 33 arrests (12,255 total) and 2023’s 41 arrests (14,951 total).

The intensity of Punjab's anti-drug operations has consistently followed political imperatives, with enforcement efforts peaking around election periods. The watershed moment came in 2014 when political and public pressure forced the ruling SAD-BJP coalition to act on rampant drug smuggling and addiction. Even the BJP had prominently promised to tackle the issue as a top priority during that year’s Lok Sabha elections, leading to subsequent crackdowns.

This pattern continued when the Congress government took office in 2017. The police arrested 12,356 alleged smugglers, averaging 34 arrests per day under then CM Capt Amarinder Singh, who had vowed to eradicate drugs within weeks of coming to power.

However, despite a massive rise in the number of arrests, glaring gaps remain. The police recently admitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court that they had managed to arrest 875 wanted smugglers from a list of 1,846 absconders, while the remaining 971 were still at large.

The Opposition dismisses the surge in arrests as “political theatre”. SAD spokesperson Dr Daljeet Cheema contends, “The police action is limited to small consumers only to inflate arrest numbers. These crackdowns have become mere political gimmicks. If the government was truly successful, hospitals would be overflowing with addicts suffering withdrawal symptoms -- which we're not seeing.”

AAP spokesperson and MP Malvinder Jit Singh Kang countered sharply, accusing the opposition parties of protecting drug smugglers. “We've made a strong beginning and will show more encouraging results in coming months. We have acted against cops who had been conniving with drug smugglers whereas the Akali and Congress used to post them as SSPs or other important posts.”