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15 MP districts named drug hotspots, Chouhan orders crackdown on mafia

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | ByHT Correspondent | Edited by Abhinav Sahay
Dec 12, 2020 11:42 AM IST

The MP government has announced a special campaign against drug mafia and addiction, to be run from December 15 to December 22, as advised by the Central anti-drugs agency.

The Central government’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has reported high prevalence of drug trafficking in at least 15 districts of Madhya Pradesh, mostly in Malwa and Mahakoshal regions, leading to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordering a crackdown on the drug mafia.

The state capital city Bhopal also figures in the list of the black list of districts, as per the state government’s spokesperson.

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CM instructed authorities to launch a special campaign against drug mafia and addiction from December 15 to December 22 as advised by the NCB, as per official information. The CM’s instructions came during a meeting with officials concerned on Friday.

“Those who trade in drugs and narcotics are enemies of humanity. They should not be spared under any circumstances. Strict action should be taken against the drug mafia in the state. For this, a special campaign should be launched to attack their roots,” Chouhan is reported to have said.

The districts with high prevalence of drug trafficking include Indore, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Neemuch and Ratlam in Malwa region, Jabalpur, Chhindwara and Narsinghpur in Mahakoshal region apart from Bhopal, Hoshangabad, Gwalior, Satna, Sagar, Datia and Rewa. Besides these 15, Vidisha and Agar-Malwa districts are also considered sensitive in the context of drug trafficking menace.

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CM added that while there should be no leniency with drug dealers and those dealing in narcotics during the campaign, a sympathetic attitude should be adopted towards child addicts and efforts must be made to help them get rid of addiction with love. The police should not deal with them aggressively, added the CM.

Chief secretary Iqbal Singh Bains, director general of police Vivek Johri and additional chief secretary Home Rajesh Rajora were among those present at the meeting.

Chouhan also asked for strict action in cases of attempts to supply drugs and narcotics at gyms, pubs, clubs, college canteens, schools etc. He declared that Hookah lounges will not be operated in the state.

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He added that a major case of chemical drug supply in Indore has come to light recently, while instances of smack-supply have been reported in Bhopal, Vidisha, Bhind, Ujjain, Ratlam etc.

However, State Congress media coordinator Narendra Saluja said, “The state government woke up from slumber after a woman member of a high-profile drug mafia was arrested in Indore. The order for action and campaign is nothing else but an eyewash as the drug mafia flourished during the BJP regime from 2003 to 2018 and now in the present term.”

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