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Pilot slams AAP govt over law & order, drug issue
He and Pargat visited Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur to meet families affected by gangster violence and drugs
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Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Pargat Singh and state party in-charge Sachin Pilot on Sunday visited families affected by gangster violence and drugs in Nakodar and Shahkot in Jalandhar, and Hoshiarpur, questioning law enforcement agencies and claiming that a nexus between gangsters, drug peddlers, and a section of the police has endangered public safety.
They met the families of Nakodar businessman Timmy Chawla and kabaddi player Sandeep Nangal Ambian. Both victims were killed in 2022, Chawla in December after reportedly refusing to pay extortion money, and Ambian in March at his village, Nangal Ambian in Shahkot.
They said both families have been waiting for justice for over four years. They said the Congress would raise their issue from the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to Parliament. They criticised chief minister Bhagwant Mann for not “fulfilling” his promise of providing a job to Ambian’s wife.
Speaking to the media, the Congress leaders said that the purpose of meeting affected families across Punjab was to understand their problems and identify the policies needed to ensure that victims receive justice in a timely manner.
“Despite the Aam Aadmi Party government’s claims of eliminating gangsterism, people continue to receive extortion calls. The victims are being threatened and intimidated, and pressure is being exerted on them to withdraw their cases. Nothing could be more unfortunate than victim families losing hope of ever receiving justice,” they said.
Pilot said that the law-and-order situation in Punjab had become “alarming”. This situation is not only “distressing for the victim families but also poses a grave threat to Punjab’s future”, he added.
Responding to BJP’s allegations that the Congress was responsible for Punjab’s drug problem, Pilot said that the BJP had previously governed Punjab in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal, during which the “drug problem had also grown”.
“The BJP is in power at the Centre and controls crucial ministries, including Home affairs and defence. Despite this, why has the smuggling of narcotics and weapons across the border not been effectively stopped,” both the leaders said.
Pargat seeks justice for slain AAP supporter Balwinder
In Hoshiarpur, they met the family of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worker and hardware trader Balwinder Singh, who was shot dead in January this year in Miani village in a gang-related extortion incident.
Talking to mediapersons, Pilot said Balwinder’s murder had exposed a troubling truth that “criminal networks could influence police investigation and both could intimidate and exploit the common man”.
He stated that the police officer responsible for bringing justice to the grieving family had instead partnered with gangsters to extort money. He added that if the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had not exposed the station house officer’s ties to the criminals, the officer would still be walking free and exploiting other innocent people.
Pargat demanded a fair and thorough probe into the case. He said Balwinder was an AAP supporter, adding that if the AAP government has failed to ensure timely justice in the murder of its own supporter, what can ordinary citizens of Punjab expect from this government
The leaders also met Congress workers at the residence of former minister Sangat Singh Gilzian and Indian Overseas Congress US president Mohinder Singh Gilzian.
