Udta Punjab reboot? Video shows Punjab woman under influence of drugs, probe on - Hindustan Times
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Udta Punjab reboot? Video shows Punjab woman under influence of drugs, probe on

By | Edited by Sohini Goswami
Sep 12, 2022 10:00 PM IST

The video started doing the rounds on social media platforms over the weekend and alerted the local police to carry out a search operation in the Maqboolpura, in which three people have been arrested so far.

A video of a woman in Punjab's Amritsar district purportedly under heavy influence of drugs, a visual reminiscent of the horrific problem in the border state, is doing the rounds on social media, leading to a political blame game.

Screengrab from viral video: A woman in Maqboolpura locality in Amritsar, purportedly under the influence of drugs. (Twitter)
Screengrab from viral video: A woman in Maqboolpura locality in Amritsar, purportedly under the influence of drugs. (Twitter)

The video, captured in Maqboolpura locality of the Amritsar East constituency, showed the woman slouching, struggling to walk or even properly stand on her feet. Her eyes were droopy and red, some video clips showed, while a man speaking in the backdrop can be heard saying she was under the influence of some kind of opioid.

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Sharing the video, a BJP leader said Maqboolpura is known as the village of widows and orphans as most of the people have died due to drugs.

While the issue has been heavily documented in movies, songs, books and more, it continues to plague the state in tragic proportions.

Maqboolpura, a small locality in Amritsar, has often been in the news for drug-abuse that has trapped its residents for generations. The area now falls under the constituency represented by AAP MLA Jeevan Jyot Kaur.

The video was shared on social media platforms over the weekend and alerted the local police to carry out a search operation in the Maqboolpura area on Sunday. Three men were nabbed during the operation and some narcotic substances were recovered from them.

Amritsar Police commissioner Arun Pal Singh took to Twitter to release a statement on the video, noting that Maqboolpura “is one of the drug hotspots” of Amritsar. “On receiving information about the incident in the viral video, a special operation was launched in Maqboolpura and 3 cases were registered against 3 persons and 117gms heroin has been recovered. The special drive against drug smugglers shall continue with added emphasis,” he said.

AAP-BJP tussle

Meanwhile, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began a war of words over the issue.

Addressing a rally in Gujarat, AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said drugs were entering the country through a Gujarat port in large quantities and were being smuggled to Punjab and other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, BJP's national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla shared the video on Twitter and said that Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann failed to fulfill their poll promise and let alcohol and drug abuse “flourish” in Delhi and Punjab.

“Arvind Kejriwal (Super CM) & Bhagwant Mann (titular CM) had promised to make Punjab “nasha mukt” in 1 week. Due to drug overdose this girl is unable to stand on her feet properly in Maqboolpura, Punjab. From Delhi to Punjab-Kejriwal & AAP allowed Nasha & Sharab to flourish,” the tweet read.

Farmer leader Sarvan Singh Pandher of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) called the video disturbing and that it revealed that even daughters were not safe in Punjab. He said that they will prominently raise the issue during their protests.

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