Amit Shah Punjab visit LIVE UPDATES: Drugs can’t come without political patronage Amit Shah attacks Punjab govt after meeting victims’ families
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Punjab and travel to several districts to meet the families of victims who lost their lives while raising their voice against drug abuse in the state. Follow for minute-to-minute LIVE UPDATES
Oct 20, 2026 05:28 PM
Even cops are being caught with drugs: Shah
- Shah said he came to remind the Punjab government and its chief that they had promised to end drugs in 3 months, but now their own “soldiers” (police personnel) are being caught with drugs. People who oppose the drug trade are being killed, he alleged.
- Shah said drugs cannot reach Punjab without political protection, calling it “absolutely not possible.”
- He said those who talk about freedom of expression in Delhi are the same people who, in Punjab, beat up someone merely for showing a black flag. He said the leaders of the AAP government should be ashamed.
- Shah said AAP accuses the Centre of drugs coming in through Gujarat and Maharashtra ports. He said drugs worth Rs 20,000 crore have been seized so far, and asked whether they want the Centre to stop seizing them so the drugs reach Punjab’s youth as small packets.
- Shah said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann did a good thing by handing the case to the CBI that morning, after returning from celebrating his birthday.
- He told the people of Punjab that, however big the person involved, the culprit would be found “even from the netherworld” and brought before the law.
- He said he would ask the CM to hand over the other two cases (Gulzar and Bikramjit) to the CBI as well, adding, “You won’t be able to handle it.”
Oct 20, 2026 05:24 PM
Accusations were hurled at me instead: Shah
"When I held the BJP’s anti-drug rally in Punjab, I had come for a drug-free Punjab, but accusations were hurled at me instead. Today I came to console people in grief, but I was abused and insulted using my name. Bad words were said. Saying all this will achieve nothing. Call me whatever you like, but put an end to the chitta (heroin) trade.”
Oct 20, 2026 05:21 PM
Punjab govt has no answer: Shah
Amit Shah said the situation in Punjab is far worse than what reaches Delhi on paper, and that it has shaken him deeply. “I want to ask the Aam Aadmi Party government: someone has lost a brother, someone has lost a husband. What answer does the government here have for them? Apart from excuses, I have heard no answer.”
Oct 20, 2026 04:44 PM
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Punjab on Tuesday (October 20) and met the families of three persons at the centre of high-profile cases.
- Shah’s first stop was the family of Bikramjit, where he spent 15 minutes. He touched the feet of Bikramjit’s mother, Surjit Kaur, and assured the family of a CBI probe and justice.
- He met the family of Gulzar, who died by suicide after allegedly being harassed for questioning AAP minister Harpal Cheema. Shah promised justice within 2-3 months and said he would attend Gulzar’s bhog (final prayers).
- He met the family of anti-drug activist Parvinder Jhota in Mansa, who was killed for opposing drugs. Shah told them the CBI team would reach Mansa at 12 noon on Wednesday.
- Jhota’s father, Bhim Singh, said Shah asked the family to “wait 24 hours” and promised that justice would be delivered.
- The Union Home Ministry has already sought a report from the Punjab Government on all three cases.
- Before Shah’s visit, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced a CBI probe into Jhota’s murder.
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{{{content}}}PTC News Desk: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Punjab on October 20. He will first visit the home of Parvinder Singh Jhota, an anti-drug activist who was murdered in Mansa. He will meet Jhota’s father, wife and sons at a park in the area.
Although the action committee formed to demand justice for Jhota has opposed Shah’s visit, his father, Bhim Singh, is willing to meet the minister. He has said that opposing Shah would amount to opposing him personally. Shah will travel to Batala in Gurdaspur district, where a man named Bikramjit Singh was murdered for opposing drug abuse. From there, he will then visit Tur Banjara village in Dirba, Sangrur district. Gulzar Singh, a resident of the village, died by suicide after allegedly being harassed for questioning AAP minister Harpal Singh Cheema.
Eventually, the minister will travel to Mansa to meet the family of slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Jhota, who was shot dead in broad daylight for raising voice against large scale sale of drugs in the town, before attendingthe city’s biggest Dussehra celebration at Daresi Ground in Ludhiana. He will also participate in the festivities and symbolically burn Ravana’s effigy.
Notably, in connection with the three deaths involving murder and suicide, the Union Home Ministry has already sought reports from the Punjab government.
The Mansa District Magistrate has declared a two-kilometre area around the new grain market and the residence of slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota a Red Zone. Drone operations have been banned in the area on Tuesday ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit.
Shah is expected to spend around 45 minutes meeting Jhota’s family. He will land at a temporary helipad set up at the grain market and travel directly to the family’s residence. After the meeting, he will return to the helipad and leave for his next destination.
Nearly 3,000 police personnel have been deployed across Mansa to ensure security during the Home Minister’s visit.
A senior officer involved in the security arrangements said Shah would meet Jhota’s family for about 45 minutes. He added that the minister would not visit any other location in Mansa.
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