My govt broke the back of drug mafia: Amarinder

Refuting the opposition charge that he had failed to keep his poll promise to wipe out the drug menace, Punjab Chief Minister said his government has already broken the back of the drug trade.

"Look, what I said and swore to do was to break the backbone of the drug mafia in four weeks. You can see the original recording of that moment, when I swore by the holy Gutka Sahib, to verify that. And that is something my government, through the STF, the Punjab Police and other agencies, has clearly done," he claimed.

"You just have to look at the figures of arrests and seizures under the NDPS Act to ascertain the truth of my statement. The opposition is only trying to mislead the people with their falsehoods, as they are wont to do, he told PTI.

"The problem is there, but we have been able to control it to a large extent. I know the recent drug-related deaths are extremely painful and I feel the pain of the families as much as they do, he said.

But you have to realise that what is happening now is not because of drugs per se but because of the concoctions these youngsters are taking after being deprived of drugs, which are no longer as easily available as they were earlier," he said.

"The drug supply chain has been choked by the Special Task Force, the Punjab police and other agencies, and we have succeeded in breaking the backbone of the drug mafia. Some of the big fish are also in the police net and those who fled the country are on our radar and will soon be nabbed," he said.

The Congress government in the state has been under pressure after an apparent surge recently of drug-related deaths. The state has now made drug tests mandatory and has been pushing for a death sentence for smugglers.

The opposition has also alleged a nexus between police officers and drug peddlers and smugglers.

"I do not know if it can be called a nexus, but yes, there have been a few instances of police personnel being involved in drug abuse and also working in cahoots with drug peddlers, the chief minister said.

We have already taken action against every such police officer against whom we have received a complaint and there has been enough prima facie evidence to show that the allegations have merit. We will continue to act on any such complaints with full seriousness in the future too."