Hon'ble Chief Justice ji :
Punjab's Drug Crisis —
I Told Captain Amarinder Singh to "Go After the Big Fish" in 2017
— Now the Supreme Court is Saying the Same Thing !
Dear Hon'ble Chief Justice of India,
Supreme Court of India, Tilak Marg, New Delhi — 110 001
supremecourt@nic.in
Dear Shri Bhagwant Mann ji,
Chief Minister, Government of Punjab
cm@punjab.gov.in
What the Supreme Court has just said :
The Supreme Court bench has declared Punjab's narcotics
situation "alarming" and has directed the State to "go after the big fish" —
the kingpins, the financiers, the political protectors — rather than endlessly
arresting small-time peddlers at the bottom of the supply chain.
[ Source : Hindustan Times : Punjab narcotics situation alarming, go after the big fish — SC directs state ]
My reaction ?
I said exactly this — to Captain Amarinder Singh — in March 2017. Eight years ago.
My 2017 blog — addressed to the then Chief Minister of Punjab :
>> Time to Fulfil Your Promise [ 11 March 2017 ]
Captain Amarinder Singh had won the Punjab election on one central promise :
making Punjab youth "drug free." Over 12 lakh young people had signed a
pledge. The entire election had turned on this single issue.
In my 2017 blog, I had urged him to :
✔ Go beyond street-level arrests and target the supply chain financiers and
political protectors
✔ Condition government jobs for youth on a verified drug-free status
✔ Create a smartphone-based anonymous reporting system for citizens to
flag drug activity
✔ Link the drug-free pledge to Aadhaar-verified identity for accountability
✔ Build a central database of all drug offenders — cross-linked to their
political and financial networks
None of this was implemented.
Captain Sahib forgot his promise. The "big fish" were never caught. The peddlers
at the bottom were arrested, released, and re-arrested. The kingpins continued
their trade — openly.
Eight years passed.
And now the Supreme Court of India is saying to Punjab what I said in 2017 :
" Go after the big fish. "
What remains unimplemented — and must be done NOW :
The Supreme Court's directive is necessary but not sufficient. Catching the "big
fish" requires a technology-backed approach that Punjab has never deployed :
1. A Drug Network Intelligence Platform
Every arrest at the street level should feed into an AI system that maps backward
: who supplied this peddler ? Who financed that supplier ? Whose political contact
provided protection ? The network graph reveals the big fish automatically —
without depending on witness testimony or police cooperation.
2. Aadhaar-linked Drug Offender Registry
Any person convicted under NDPS should have their Aadhaar flagged immediately.
Banks, passport offices, property registries, and government job applications —
all must check this registry in real time. The big fish cannot hide behind shell
companies and benami assets if their Aadhaar identity is flagged across all
systems.
3. Asset Freeze at Point of Arrest — not after years of court proceedings
The moment a "big fish" is arrested under NDPS, their bank accounts, properties,
and vehicles should be frozen automatically via an NDPS-linked integration with
VAHAN, CERSAI, and the banking system. No bail-and-transfer window. Assets
frozen first, court proceedings after.
4. Anonymous AI-Powered Tipline in Punjabi
A WhatsApp-based bot, available in Punjabi, where any citizen can report drug
activity with photos, voice notes, or video — anonymously and safely. The AI
triages the tips, maps them geographically, and surfaces patterns invisible to
human analysts. The tipline should be administered by a body independent of
state police.
5. Political Network Audit
The biggest gap in every drug investigation is the political connection. The Drug
Network Graph should be required to include — as mandatory nodes — every
elected representative, government officer, and police official who has had
documented contact with any arrested drug offender. This audit should be placed
before the Supreme Court, not filed with the state government.
A gentle suggestion to Your Lordship :
The Supreme Court's monitoring of the Punjab drug situation is commendable.
May I respectfully suggest that the Hon'ble Court also direct the State to :
► Build and deploy a Drug Network Graph — with a firm 6-month deadline
and Court-verified milestones
► Report to the Court quarterly — not just on arrest numbers, but specifically
on the financial networks dismantled and assets frozen
► Appoint a Court-monitored Special Investigator — fully independent of
the state police and state government — with powers to freeze assets,
summon witnesses, and access financial records
► Name and publicise the top 50 "big fish" identified by the Drug Network
Graph — as a public accountability measure
Your Lordship, the peddler is not the problem.
The peddler is merely the last mile of a supply chain that begins with political will
— or the lack of it.
Every Chief Minister of Punjab since 2017 has promised to go after the source.
None has.
The Supreme Court now has the power — and the moral authority — to ensure it
actually happens this time.
Nine years of broken promises are enough.
With deep respect,
Hemen Parekh
08 May 2026 | Mumbai
hcp@RecruitGuru.com | www.hemenparekh.ai
PS : Chat with my Digital Avatar at www.hemenparekh.ai
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