The investigation into the Pathankot air base attack has once again catapulted the issue of drug trade in Punjab and the alleged political patronage to it, at the centrestage.
With the National Investigation Agency probing the attack, Shashi Kant, the former DGP-Punjab, has called for an independent investigation into politicians' links with drgus smugglers to get to the bottom of the terror attack.
Mr. Kant claims to have handed over a list of policians and police offiers involved in drug trade in Punjab chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, back in 2007 when he was head of the intelligence of Punjab Police. He is also a party to a public interest litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a matter related to drugs.
Shashi Kant says several politicians and police officers are involved in drug trade. He says in the 'Majha' region of Punjab, "politicians from across the spectrum are involved".
He has called for an investigation in to it by the NIA, assisted by the national intelligence agencies.
In the meanwhile, several media reports in the Indian media have suggested that Salwinder Singh, the former SP of Gurdaspur, was helping drugs smugglers. According to reports, Salwinder Singh has addmitted before the NIA that on January 1, he had gone to help drugs smugglers when he was kidnapped by armed gunmen who later attacked the Pathankot air base.
Reports also say that Mr. Singh used to get diamonds for helping smugglers, which were examined by his jeweller friend.
The NIA now has secured the court's permission to get a lie detector test done on Salwinder Singh.
