Ludhiana, October 20 — Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to hand over the investigations into two more deaths of anti-drug activists to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), saying the state government "will not be able to handle it." Addressing a press conference in Ludhiana after concluding his day-long Punjab visit, Shah said he had met the bereaved families of Bikramjit Singh in Gurdaspur, Gulzar Singh in Sangrur and Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa — all of whom were either murdered or driven to suicide, he said, for allegedly taking a stand against the drug mafia.

Shah said Mann had done one good thing that morning, after returning from his birthday celebrations, by handing over the Jhota case to the CBI. "I want to give my word to the people of Punjab: in the case handed over to us, whoever is found guilty — no matter how powerful or big they are — we will track them down even from the depths of the earth and hand them over to the law," he said. "And today, I also want to appeal to the Chief Minister: you will not be able to handle it. Hand over the remaining two cases to the CBI as well. That is also the demand of their family members."

The Home Minister said the ground reality described by the victims' families and residents was far more severe than what is captured in administrative files. Separately, Shah announced that a CBI team would reach Jhota's residence in Mansa by 12 noon on Wednesday (October 21) to begin investigating his murder.

Jhota, an anti-drug activist, was shot dead on October 13; the Punjab government announced on Tuesday morning that his case was being handed to the CBI in response to his family's demand. At the press conference Shah also alleged — his allegation, not an established finding — that narcotics worth Rs 20,000 crore had been seized at ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra, and questioned how drugs still reach Punjab's youth, alleging political patronage behind the trade. Sources: ANI, IANS, TV9 Punjabi.