A day after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced the transfer of nearly 10,000 lower-rank police personnel following allegations of their involvement with drug peddlers, the state's Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav defended the move, stating that no officer facing misconduct charges was shifted in the administrative reshuffle.
In an interview with The Tribune, the DGP remarked that the transfers were carried out as per the regular policy implemented in 2020 requiring the rotation of police officials from one station after a specified period. He maintained that nobody undergoing investigation or facing proved allegations of wrongdoing lost their post in the bureaucratic changes.
Yadav adopted a zero-tolerance approach against police misconduct related to narcotics, noting the dismissal and criminal charges against officials found abetting the trade. However, the DGP asserted that individual transgressions did not negate the force's anti-drug efforts, remarking on significant seizures and an over 560% increase in confiscated contraband since 2017.
Talking about the cross-border origins of the menace, the DGP openly accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of orchestrating drug smuggling into Punjab, describing it as the prime sponsor of narco-terrorism against India. Over 900 drones sent from across the border since 2019 highlight Islamabad's role in pushing illegal substances, according to the police chief.
A multi-agency counter-strategy is in the works but the DGP warned that law enforcement alone cannot eliminate the scourge, requiring cooperation between different state and central government bodies. The interview aimed to clarify the police's stance in the combating drug trafficking amid recent allegations of complicity within lower divisions.
