Drugs smuggling remained unabated during Assembly polls in Punjab
Darpan News Desk IANS, 22 Feb, 2022 01:41 PM
New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) Huge quantity of drugs continued to be smuggled in Punjab during the Assembly polls in the state, Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) data suggest.
The NCB was keeping a close vigil on the drug smuggling cases in all the election-bound states, during which as many as 14 cases related to the seizure of drugs were reported from Punjab, which went to the polls in a single phase on February 20.
The agency constituted special teams to keep a check on drug smuggling during the Assembly elections in five states.
An NCB source said that the state police and other agencies also participated in the special operations being launched by the NCB.
"We recovered 105 kg heroin worth Rs 315 crore from Punjab. Apart from this, we seized 1,510 kg ganja and 1,870 kg hashish. One was held in a case pertaining to the seizure of hashish and ganja, while several others are still on the run," said the source.
Most of the drugs "might have" been smuggled in from across the border, which is a matter of grave concern, the source added.
In Uttar Pradesh, where elections are still underway, the NCB has lodged 10 cases and arreated 17 persons. Elevan persons involved in drugs smuggling are still at large in the state.
In Uttrakhand, only one case was lodged and four were held for supplying herion.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari led the state by solemnly laying wreaths at the Martyrs' Memorial erected inside the Mumbai Police Commissionerate premises near Crawford Market in south Mumbai.
Amarinder Singh said in a statement here that although he owed no explanation to "an out of job legislator who has been sacked as a minister in Rajasthan for being named as an accused in murder case of Kamlesh Prajapat, in Barmer, and inquiry for which has been handed over to the CBI by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Ghelot", he still wanted to set the record straight.
Hearings in the US Senate in 2009 on the lessons learnt from the 26/11 Mumbai attacks remarked that the attackers appeared to know their targets better than the responding commandos.
Party in-charge of the state Harish Chaudhary has reached out to Jakhar but sources say he was unable to pacify him and it is likely that Sonia Gandhi may have to intervene in the state's issues. Sources close to Sunil Jakhar confirmed the meeting on Tuesday evening.
Passenger air services were suspended in late March 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19. While domestic flight services resumed from May 25, 2020, international flight services were only maintained via 'Bubble Agreements'.
The euphoria around destination wedding of a Maharashtra-based family took an unexpected and tense turn after a man -- who "introduced himself as a member" of the bride's family -- ran away with jewellery worth Rs 2 crore, from a five-star hotel here, leaving the bride's family shocked on her wedding day (Friday).
