Amit Shah urges Punjab chief minister to answer on Dirba poisoning and Mansa activist killing

In a micro-blogging post, Union Home Minister Amit Shah warned that Punjab is confronting an escalating drug trade and organised crime, highlighting a father's suicide by poison in Dirba and the daylight murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa. He said the central government will seek a formal response from the Punjab administration and demanded that chief minister Bhagwant Mann provide concrete actions rather than promises.

Shah called for decisive strikes against drug networks and an impartial probe into any political patronage of criminals. Mann countered by citing a seizure of 3,000 kg of synthetic drugs at the Kandla port in Gujarat and reminded Shah that the Border Security Force oversees a 50-kilometre zone, urging him to accept responsibility for his own portfolio. The exchange comes as Punjab prepares for assembly elections scheduled for early next year, with parties intensifying focus on the drug issue.