Meeting with Shah: Mann, Sukhu bat for more teeth to NDPS Act

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and his Himachal counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday urged Union home minister Amit Shah for more stringent provisions in the NDPS Act, including life imprisonment, to check drug smuggling

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and his Himachal counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday urged Union home minister Amit Shah for more stringent provisions in the NDPS Act, including life imprisonment, to check drug smuggling.

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and his Himachal counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday urged Union home minister Amit Shah for more stringent provisions in the NDPS Act, including life imprisonment, to check drug smuggling.

Taking part in a virtual meeting on ‘Drug Trafficking and National Security’ chaired by Shah, Mann urged Shah to make registration of drones compulsory, saying unmanned aerial vehicles were being used for cross-border smuggling of weapons and heroin.

Mann also suggested that anti-drone technology or jammers be installed along the international border with Pakistan to check the smuggling in of drugs and weapons.

A state-of-the-art regional drone forensic lab may be set up in Punjab, preferably in Amritsar, in order to trace the origin, destination and route maps of drones, he added.

The CM apprised the Union minister of his government’s action against drugs and smugglers and said Punjab is the first state to constitute a special task force to effectively implement laws against drug trafficking, apprehend traffickers and disrupt the supply chain.

He said his government has adopted a three-pronged strategy of enforcement-de addiction-prevention (EDP) against the menace of drugs. It comprises the enforcement of laws against drug trafficking, de-addiction of victims of drug abuse and prevention through the protection of vulnerable sections, students, youths and the general public, according to an official statement.

Mann said his government has allotted a plot measuring 2,000 square yards to the Narcotics Control Bureau and approved 2.50 acres of land in Amritsar for the construction of a regional office, zonal residential centre and a dedicated narco-forensic science laboratory.

The Punjab chief minister also sought access to the customs database so that suspected containers coming from other countries are scrutinised.

He also batted for the reduction of the commercial quantity of heroin from the existing 250 grams to 25 grams to check peddling at the intermediate level.

The Union government must liberally allocate funds to states and Union territories for capacity building of the Forensic Science Lab (FSL), Mann said, adding that this will help states wipe out the menace of drugs.

He said around 1,000 kg of heroin, 56 hand grenades, 126 pistols and revolvers, 11 AK-47 and other rifles and 9.5 kg of RDX have been seized from drone-based deliveries till May 16 this year.

After assuming charge of the office, his government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs and from April 1, 2022, till July 13, 2023, 16,554 cases have been registered under the NDPS Act and 22,349 smugglers have been arrested, the chief minister added.

Himachal CM calls for life term to peddlers

During the conference, Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu called for life imprisonment to drug peddlers and several other changes in the NDPS Act.

Advocating for more powers to the state under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, he said punishment for drug offences should be increased from five years to life imprisonment. The CM said such offences should be made non-bailable regardless of the quantity involved.

Smuggling of psychotropic substances/synthetic drugs especially ‘chitta’ (adulterated heroin) in “intermediate” quantity has become a bane for the state police as in 95% of cases the drug is smuggled in “consumable or intermediate quantities,” an offence which is bailable under the NDPS Act.

Sukhu also stressed on the importance of addressing drug overdose cases leading to deaths and called for necessary changes in the Act to address the matter.

The CM also spoke of the need to delegate powers of confiscation to the states as well as inserting into the Act a provision of fine of ₹5 lakh and confiscation of properties. He urged the Union government to establish a zonal office of the Narcotics Control Bureau, a modern hi-tech Jail in Kullu district, as well as a modern forensic laboratory and a mobile lab in the state to expedite the investigation of cases.

Sukhu also sought a more liberal financial assistance from the Central government for operating drug de-addiction centres in Himachal Pradesh.

“Himachal is among the few states in the country employing preventive detention measures to combat the problem effectively and has also constituted an Advisory Board in this regard,” the CM said.