Punjab: The worsening drug problem and the optics of ‘action’

What should have marked a pivotal moment in Punjab’s long and troubled saga — the arrest of Bikram Singh Majithia last week — has failed to inspire any real hope of a shift in the narrative. Few in Punjab believe that the Bhagwant Mann-led government will have either the will or the capacity to see this matter through to a meaningful conclusion.

Although Majithia was first arrested in 2022 by the Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government in a case involving drug smuggling and disproportionate assets, that initial momentum quickly dissipated. Soon after, Punjab went to polls, and the Aam Aadmi Party came to power with a sweeping mandate.

Bhagwant Mann assumed the role of chief minister, and many believed it was now his government’s turn to deliver justice against the man whose alleged links to the drug trade had played a crucial role in AAP’s rise in Punjab.

But the promise faltered. A few months into AAP’s tenure, in August 2022, the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted bail to Majithia. The state government challenged the bail order in the Supreme Court, but failed to get it overturned.

To understand where this narrative began, one must rewind to 2017. It was in the run-up to the Punjab Assembly elections that the AAP began building its political base in the state. Prominent party leaders — Arvind Kejriwal, Ashish Khetan and Sanjay Singh — regularly targeted Bikram Singh Majithia in their speeches, portraying him as a central figure in Punjab’s drug crisis. Majithia responded with legal action.

Under mounting pressure post-elections, Kejriwal and Khetan eventually issued public apologies. (The defamation case against Sanjay Singh, however, is ongoing.)

Against this backdrop, AAP’s renewed attempt to arrest Majithia ahead of the next assembly elections — a mere year-and-a-half away — raises a critical question: how seriously should these efforts be taken?

Majithia’s name has become almost synonymous with Punjab’s drug menace — his alleged involvement first surfaced in 2013 when Jagdish Bhola, a former Arjuna Award-winning wrestler and DSP in Punjab Police, was arrested for trafficking synthetic drugs. A massive haul was seized, and during the investigation, Bhola claimed that Majithia was also part of the racket. At the time, the Shiromani Akali Dal was in power, and Majithia held a senior cabinet position. Unsurprisingly, the allegation failed to hold.

When the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched its investigation, Bhola reiterated the same allegations. The ED reportedly traced financial transactions that linked large sums of money to the Majithia family. According to sources, Rs 540 crore was funnelled into Saraya Industries Ltd, a company associated with the Majithias.

By that time, the Narendra Modi-led government had taken charge at the Centre, with the SAD as part of the ruling alliance. Before the probe could go further, investigating officer Niranjan Singh was abruptly transferred from Punjab to Kolkata in January 2015, effectively stymieing the case against Majithia.

The probe resumed years later when the Congress returned to power in Punjab. During Amarinder Singh’s tenure, it moved sluggishly. It wasn’t until Charanjit Singh Channi assumed office that the case was handed over to the then director-general of police, Siddharth Chattopadhyay. These renewed efforts culminated in Majithia’s arrest in February 2022. However, the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government failed to present a strong enough case, and Majithia was granted bail within a few months.

With Majithia’s arrest making headlines once again, both Niranjan Singh and Chattopadhyay — now retired — have re-entered the conversation. Both have publicly asserted that there is solid, admissible evidence linking Majithia to the drug smuggling racket, based on which a strong case can indeed be built against him.

Weirdly, the latest case filed against Majithia doesn’t even mention drugs. It has been initiated by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau — an agency whose mandate is limited to investigating corruption, not narcotics-related crimes. The current charges pertain solely to allegations of disproportionate assets, not drug trafficking.

For over a decade, Majithia’s name has been closely linked with Punjab’s drug trade. Many still believe that a fair and thorough investigation — if such a thing were ever conducted — would result in his conviction. Few take the disproportionate assets case seriously.

The Majithia family is one of Punjab’s wealthiest. Accorded quasi-royal status by the British, they were counted among the biggest landowners from the time of undivided Punjab. Against this historical backdrop, filing a case of disproportionate assets is, at best, symbolic — if not outright farcical.

Though the SAD and the BJP are no longer formally allied, the Central government has shown little inclination to press forward with a serious investigation. The political calculus seems clear: despite the public rift, both parties likely understand that they remain interdependent in Punjab’s evolving political landscape. Punjab BJP president Sunil Kumar Jakhar recently hinted at the possibility of a renewed alliance — adding fuel to the speculation that the current legal action may be more performative than prosecutorial.

Since the formation of the AAP government in Punjab, many of the high-profile cases filed are seen as politically motivated. Not a single one has reached a definitive conclusion. In its attempt to project a zero-tolerance stance on corruption, the government even targeted its own party MLAs and ministers. Many of these cases either failed in court or quietly faded away.

Many believe the real motive behind Majithia’s arrest is electoral optics rather than a genuine effort to combat Punjab’s drug crisis. There is little public expectation that it will address the spiralling problem of addiction.

The Mann government’s campaign ‘Yuddh Nashian Viruddh’ (war against drugs) is also being seen by critics as more of a public relations exercise than a serious policy intervention. Despite the rhetoric, the campaign lacks the depth, focus and urgency required to tackle a crisis of this scale.

According to data from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), approximately 15.1 per cent of the state’s population — around 31 lakh people — are currently dependent on drugs. Another study reveals that Punjab accounts for 16 per cent of all the women affected by drug addiction in India. At present, an estimated 35 per cent of households in Punjab have at least one family member battling substance abuse. In areas bordering Pakistan, this figure shoots up to a staggering 80 per cent.

Despite these grim statistics, the state’s response remains largely superficial. Beyond the occasional seizure of drug consignments, there has been little in the way of sustained or systemic action.