Chandigarh to get dedicated Anti-Narcotic Task Force
The Anti-Narcotic Task Force will be headed by an inspector general-rank officer; a dedicated anti-dark net cell will also be constituted to check dark web drug trade in Chandigarh
UT adviser Dharam Pal on Tuesday chaired the second state-level Narco Coordination Center (NCORD) meeting, which was convened by Gyaneshwar Singh, deputy director general, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
At the meeting, it was decided that a dedicated Anti-Narcotic Task Force will be set up in Chandigarh, to be headed by an inspector general (IG)-rank officer.
A dedicated anti-dark net cell will also be constituted to check dark web drug trade in the city. To be managed by the cyber cell of the UT Police, the project will also rope in college students and volunteers.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will provide a dedicated control room number to deal with complaints of drug smuggling. Besides, drug smuggling prone routes and borders of the city will be patrolled by police regularly.
To check drug smuggling through post/couriers, sniffer dogs and scanners will be deployed at major mailing hubs.
It was also decided that all pubs and restaurants in Chandigarh will have to mandatorily display “anti-drug” signage.
NCB zonal director Amanjit Singh briefed the meeting on the drug trafficking scenario in Chandigarh. A detailed presentation on the NCORD mechanism and agenda items was also made by Gyaneshwar.
Capacity building to tackle drug smuggling will be given utmost importance by all departments and drug law enforcement agencies. Mass anti-drug awareness programmes will be launched targeting the vulnerable sections.
The meeting was also attended by UT home secretary Nitin Yadav, along with departmental heads and representatives, including the health, excise, education and social welfare secretaries, SSP (Crime) and DIG, BSF, among others.