Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Punjab to meet the families of anti-drug activists who died after speaking out against the narcotics trade. Shah met the family of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur, who died by suicide after alleging intense harassment and pressure for confronting authorities over local drug sales. The Home Minister also visited the kin of Bikramjit Singh in Gurdaspur and anti-drug crusader Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa, who was shot dead inside a chemist store during a Facebook livestream. Ahead of Shah’s arrival, the Punjab government announced it would transfer the investigation into Jhota’s murder to the Central Bureau of Investigation following protests from the victim’s family and supporters. The deaths have triggered a major political flashpoint between the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Congress ahead of the assembly elections, with opposition parties criticising the deteriorating law and order situation and cross-border drug influx.
