Punjab’s famous winter kabaddi tournaments,usually organised by NRIs, aremissing from the countryside. The sportingextravaganzas have become the firstcasualties of the ongoing investigationinto a multi-crore drug racket that hasalso been lined to top politicians acrossthe State.
PATIALA – Punjabi NRIs are givingkabaddi the miss this year after thePunjab police declared that they have 40prominent NRIs on their radar who arebeing used as couriers by the drug carteloperating from Punjab and neighbouringStates.The police learnt from the confession offormer cop turned drug lord JagdishBhola — one of the 52 people arrestedso far — that some prominent kabaddiplayers, who are now settled in Canadaand European countries, promote thegame in Punjab and abroad and usekabaddi tournaments as platforms tosmuggle synthetic drugs.Patiala’s Senior Superintendent of PoliceHardyal Singh Mann told The Hindu thatlookout notices were issued for severalNRIs associated with the sport and theyare likely to apprehend them as soon asthey come to India.The police are also keeping a tab onthose regulars who skip a visit to Punjabthis winter, as it will strengthen the suspicionabout their links with the drug business.In the last several months, thePatiala police have arrested drug smugglers,couriers, and kingpins. Amongthem are policemen, award winningsportsmen and politicians.Most of those arrested so far belong toPunjab, and the police said the majoritems smuggled to the West are precursorchemicals such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrineused in the manufacture ofmethamphetamine or ‘ice,’ a party drug.Baltej Pannu, a Canadian NRI inJalandhar, said Punjabis had come underthe scrutiny of the Canadian policebecause of their involvement in the racket.He said Punjabi owners of grocerystores in Canada are big smugglers asthey take import containers full of goodsfrom India.“Every Punjabi in Canada knows who issmuggling drugs from Punjab. With thisinvestigation, there is relief in the communitythere because the end users ofthe drugs were also the Punjabi youths inthose countries,” Pannu said.He said senior police officers and politiciansused to be invited to the kabadditournaments as guests and given lavishgifts in return for turning a blind eye tothe behind-the-scene operations.“I know of some senior police officerswho were given free air tickets to visitthose countries, and lavish hospitalitywas extended to them,” said former copShashi Kant Sharma, who is now a crusaderagainst drugs in Punjab.Pannu said Canadian NRI circles wereabuzz with rumours that instead ofkabaddi couriers coming to Punjab thiswinter, a couple of Punjab politicianshave instead paid a visit to Canada. Over 30 people have been killed in drugwars in Canada alone in the last few years,he said, adding that the most recent casewas that of a top smuggler being arrestedthere for burning alive a courier inCanada. The Punjab Congress has beenholding a dharna demanding that theinvestigation into the drug racket begiven to the Central Bureau ofInvestigation. As the protest entered itsfifth day on Thursday, all of Punjab wasagog with how the names of one Ministerand the PCC president himself have beenlinked to the drug bust. Sharma, who is apetitioner in a PIL into the matter in thePunjab and Haryana High Court, said“while it is important to probe the role ofNRI Punjabis, the names of the politicianswhose names have surfaced shouldalso be investigated.”Courtesy The Hindu
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