Shashi Kant’s report on Drugs smuggling in Punjab never existed in records: Punjab Govt. tell HC

Chandigarh: The Punjab Government has brushed away the possibility of bringing out the names of drug paddlers in Punjab, who were reportedly named in a report submitted by former top police officer Shashi Kant, as the government has maintained that no such report existed in its records.

As the case came up for resumed hearing in the High Court yesterday (April 26), two affidavits by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Counter Intelligence, Mohinish Chawla, and Special Secretary to the Punjab Government, Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Shruti Singh, were placed before the Bench.

The developments took place on a petition by SK Gupta against the Punjab State Information Commission (SIC) and other respondents. Petitioner’s counsel Sardavinder Goyal had argued that he (Gupta) moved an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on the basis of a statement made to the media by Shashi Kant.

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The High court judge Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, who was hearing the petition, said that in view of the state’s assertion, nothing survived in the petition.

Notably former DGP (Prisons) has been maintaining that during his posting in the intelligence department he was conducted a probe in to illicit drugs trade in Punjab and the report, along with politicians involved in this practise was submitted to the Badal government. However, the government denies existence of any such report.