Punjab's drug crisis has heaped fresh pressure on the state government after police Wednesday "seized" the body of a man who had died of suspected overdose and whose family was planning a protest. The body of 35-year-old Daljit Singh was being taken to the site in Mansa where family of activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was already protesting. Jhota was killed by a medicine shop owner whom he accused of selling drugs.
Punjab has been battling drugs for almost a decade and a half, but there seems to be no let-up in the scourge. According to National Crime Records Bureau's latest data, Punjab led the country with 6,060 cases of drug possession for trafficking in 2024. It also recorded 106 drug overdose deaths, second only to Tamil Nadu (313).
With Assembly elections due next year, the issue of drugs is being raised loudly. It is central to BJP's poll pitch, putting AAP government on backfoot.
Before Independence, opium and poppy husk were prevalent in pre-Independence Punjab and had social acceptance. After 1947, opium thekas were legal until 1960s. Royal Commission on Opium in 1894 observed: “The consumption of opium by the people of India generally is infinitesimally small; it has been consumed for centuries by certain classes in Northern India.”
Vulnerable by geography: Punjab's 553-km border with Pakistan makes it vulnerable to smuggling. The mountainous parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran form the Golden Crescent, one of three major global centres of heroin processing.
Pharma drugs surge: As state and Centre stepped up border enforcement, abuse of pharmaceutical drugs increased sharply. In 2021, Centre extended BSF jurisdiction from 15 km to 50 km inland. Of the 5.13 crore pharmaceutical drug units seized across India in 2024, Punjab accounted for 2.94 crore. Around 25% of NDPS Act FIRs by Punjab Police in 2022 involved pharma drugs. Around 80% of these drugs enter Punjab from manufacturing hubs in Himachal, UP, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The global drug trail: The other two major drug hubs are Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand and Laos) and South America. The role of drones: Drone-based smuggling has surged, with BSF reporting over 200 drone droppings rose from three in 2021 to over 200 in 2025.
Tags: #PunjabDrugs #NDPS #GoldenCrescent #PharmaDrugs #DroneSmuggling #NCRB #Overdose #Chitta #BSF #AAPGovt