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HC asks Punjab, Haryana to file status report after BSF submits list of drug traffickers
The court took cognizance of news reports after the Border Security Force (BSF) gave a list of 75 individuals suspected of involvement in drug trafficking to Punjab Police
The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed Punjab to apprise it of steps taken after a report submitted by the Border Security Force (BSF) about 75 individuals suspected to be involved in drug trafficking.
The bench of acting chief justice Ritu Bahri and justice Aman Chaudhary took suo motu cognizance of news reports on the issue and directed the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to file a status report giving details of persons suffering from drug addiction in Punjab and Haryana.
Also read: Take habitual drug offenders into preventive custody: BSF to Punjab govt
The NCB has also been asked to specify the nature of steps that could be taken to generate awareness regarding the menace. The NCB has also been directed to specify the preventive steps initiated in view of the huge quantity of recovery of drugs being made in Punjab, according to media reports.
The court issued a notice to Haryana and the NCB and directed that the state would also file a status report regarding the steps being taken in the matter.
BSF Western Command special director general Yogesh Bahadur Khurania said at a press conference in Chandigarh on Monday that the force has given a list of such offenders, whom the BSF termed habitual offenders and called for their preventive detention to fight the drug problem.
The BSF official said that the force has recovered 101 drones this year with 93 of them in Punjab and eight in Rajasthan. The BSF seizure of narcotics from Punjab was reported higher this year than in 2022. This year, BSF seized 420.25kg of heroin from Punjab, while in 2022 it was 316.98 kg.
The Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act provides for preventive detention of repeat offenders. Section 3 of the Act empowers the government to detain people to prevent them from engaging in illicit traffic of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances..
