New Delhi, April 7 -- Punjab's anti-drug campaign is showing a shift towards conviction-led policing, with authorities reporting a steady rise in conviction rates under the NDPS Act over the past four years.

Official data shows conviction rates improving from 80% in 2022 to 88% in 2025, with 2026 figures so far indicating a further increase to around 89% in cases decided by courts.

The campaign, Yudh Nashean Virudh, backed by the Punjab government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, has focused on strengthening the quality of investigations and ensuring cases hold up during trial.

Officials said the approach marks a departure from an earlier emphasis on arrests and seizures towards building legally sustainable cases through prose...