Chandigarh: Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a demonstration in Chandigarh on Thursday against the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government and the Punjab Police, demanding the resignations of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav over the escalating drug menace in Punjab, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via DevDiscourse

Protesters raised slogans including "Bhagwant Mann kursi chhodo" (Bhagwant Mann, step down) and demanded accountability from the state administration, alleging complicity and failure on the part of law enforcement agencies to curb drug trafficking. These are the protesters' allegations, not findings.

Source: ANI via Indian Economic Observer

What ABVP leader Ankit Bidhan alleged

Speaking to ANI during the protest, ABVP leader Ankit Bidhan alleged that Punjab's youth, especially school and college students, are increasingly falling victim to drug abuse while the authorities remain passive. "Today, we are seeking answers from the Punjab Police and the Punjab Government. Those responsible for maintaining law and order are instead enabling the drug trade," he alleged.

Bidhan invoked the killing of anti-drug activist Parminder Singh Jhota in Mansa, alleging: "Our brother Sardar Parminder Jhota raised his voice against drug peddlers, and what happened? He was targeted and murdered, while Punjab Police sat idle." The Jhota murder case has separately been handed to the CBI, and a Mansa DSP and a drug inspector were suspended in connection with the case — developments Awaaz Punjab has reported earlier.

Bidhan further cited, as his claim, a recent incident in which he said 15 kilograms of drugs were recovered from a Punjab Police head constable who was part of a VIP security convoy, and asked how such quantities could circulate without the knowledge of the police and administration. Awaaz Punjab is reporting this as Bidhan's allegation at the protest; it is not presented here as a verified recovery figure.

Calling the Punjab government's anti-drug campaigns "mere public relations exercises" restricted to "social media and posters" was also Bidhan's allegation: "In reality, drugs continue to be pushed into the state. We demand that the Punjab government and the DGP resign immediately. We also urge the Central Government to initiate an impartial investigation into the involvement of police officials."

No response from the Punjab government, the AAP or Punjab Police to Thursday's protest had appeared in the reports available at the time of publishing. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if a response is issued.