A new entrant in poll scene: heroin

While it is common knowledge that polls in Punjab are routinely contested with the aid of a heady cocktail of money

While it is common knowledge that polls in Punjab are routinely contested with the aid of a heady cocktail of money,liquor and easily-available drug bhukki poppy husk,the ongoing poll campaign will be remembered for another factoid: the entry on the campaign scene of hard drugs like heroin.

The state has already earned itself the unenviable record of heroin worth at least Rs 200 crore in the international market and liquor worth crores being seized since the campaign began.

According to the Election Commission EC figures,in the last month,Punjab Police,BSF and EC observers have seized 49 kg heroin,worth at least Rs 200 crore from different areas,most of them in Amritsar and Ferozepur,both on the Indo-Pakistan border.

On January 21,a police party nabbed two persons Sukhraj Singh and Jarnail Singh with 12 kg heroin from a village near the Attari-Wagah border. Another haul,this time 17 kg heroin,was recovered by the Gharinda Police in Amritsar district on January 18. Yet another consignment,14 kg,was recovered in a search and seizure operation conducted jointly by the BSF,Punjab Police and election officials from Tarn Taran the same day.

A senior Punjab Police functionary told The Sunday Express that in most cases the heroin was to be delivered to political workers for distribution among voters.

It is a very disturbing sign. In previous elections,liquor and local drugs like poppy husk used to be distributed to lure voters. But,the seizure of such huge quantities of heroin this time is worrisome. And for every kg of heroin that has been seized,there would be a kg that has not been found, said a senior Punjab Police official.

However,the arrival of heroin on the election scene doesnt mean that the other minor drugs and liquor have done the disappearing act.

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Since the campaign began,3,000 kg poppy husk,nine kg opium and 1.6 kg smack has been seized by EC officials and police. That liquor remains the best bet for candidates to lure voters with is clear when one considers the amount of liquor seized so far: 1.7 lakh litres.

While nobody can deny the influence of drugs and liquor in the ongoing campaign,due to the strict policies of the EC,these will also be one of the cleanest-ever elections in Punjab, said a senior EC functionary.