Threats to anti-drug panels, STF warns of tough action

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 12

A day after an anti-drug committee member was shot at in Kotli Ablu village of Muktsar district, Balkar Singh Sidhu STF, IGP, Bathinda zone, today expressed solidarity with those who are fighting the menace of drugs, saying that stringent action will be initiated against anyone trying to intimidate committee members.

Addressing a press conference here, Sidhu along with Bathinda SSP Nanak Singh and Muktsar SSP Manjit Singh Dhesi said they would felicitate Satnam Singh, who was injured during the attack at Kotli Ablu village, on August 15 and also recommend his name for a government job.

Sidhu said they were conducting raids to nab the accused involved in two recent instances of attack on anti-drug committee members in Muktsar. He said the police would ensure safety and security of the members. Besides, he said they had also briefed the committees on how to deal with the situation.

He said all the committees had their helpline numbers and they were just a call away. “We will not spare anybody trying to create hurdles in our anti-drug drive. We also want to assure anti-drug committees working in villages that they don’t need to bother about such elements, as the police always stand by them,” he added.

On the demand for arms licence by some of the anti-drug committees, he said they would decide on the issue on case-to-case basis.

Sidhu said the accused in Kotli Ablu attack case, Karanvir Singh alias Happy, had criminal background and was earlier also booked in a drug smuggling case. He was also awarded three-year jail term in 2016. He said they were verifying the properties owned by him and would initiate the process to attach the same soon.

Replying to a media query, the IGP said black sheep could be anywhere, including the police force, and they were not sparing anyone as and when identified. He denied that there was any leakage of information regarding the police search operations for drugs in the region.

Meanwhile, talking about the letter penned by Bir Talab village residents in which they sought “permission to indulge in drug trade”, Bathinda SSP Nanak Singh said they had taken a serious note of it. “We have already suspended an ASI and arrested 16 persons over the last two to three days. We will wipe out the menace from Bir Talab soon,” he claimed.

We will not spare anybody trying to create hurdles in our anti-drug drive. We also want to assure anti-drug committees working in villages that they don’t need to bother about such elements, as the police always stand by them— Balkar Singh Sidhu,  IGP, STF, Bathinda zone