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Make colleges and universities narcotics-free, Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan tells police
Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan, who held a high-level review on the law and order situation in the state, expressed concern over the reports of cultivation of ganja, cannabis and opium in some parts of the state and their supply to colleges and universities.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday called for making colleges and universities narcotics-free and asked the state police department to step up surveillance on the educational institutions to prevent supply and consumption of drugs.
Jagan, who held a high-level review on the law and order situation in the state, expressed concern over the reports of cultivation of ganja, cannabis and opium in some parts of the state and their supply to colleges and universities.
“According to the information available to us, most of the consumption of narcotics is happening in colleges and universities. If we can curb the drug supply to these higher educational institutions, we can control 80 per cent of the drug menace in the state,” the chief minister said.
He asked the police department and the special enforcement bureau (SEB) of the prohibition and excise department to keep a watch on the colleges and universities to find out the source of the supply of drugs.
“We have to identify the institutions where the consumption of drugs is high and map all such colleges. With the help of intelligence and the SEB, the police should track down the origin where these narcotics are coming from and who is supplying the same. If we can break the network of drug peddlers, we can control the menace easily,” Jagan said.
Asking the police to take curbing the drug menace in educational institutions as a challenge, the chief minister instructed all the district superintendents of police and commissioners of police to work out an action plan on the issue and submit reports on supply and consumption of narcotics once in four weeks.
“Our endeavour should be making all the educational institutions completely drug-free,” he said.
There have been periodical reports of seizure of drugs from students in the state. In April this year, the Guntur (Urban) police booked cases against six students of a private university in the district for consuming drugs in an apartment near Tadepalli, close to the residence of the chief minister. The police seized 1.9 kg of ganja, two hookahs, bhang bottles, and six mobile phones.
The recent arrest of a Telugu couple in Chennai linked to seizure of nearly 3,000 kg of heroin worth around ₹9,000 crore by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Mundra port in Gujarat, triggered a political uproar in the state.
The main opposition Telugu Desam Party alleged that the arrested couple – Machavarapu Sudhakar and his wife Vaishali, have links with the YSRC leaders in East Godavari district.
The firm floated by the couple – Aashi Trading Company, located at Vijayawada supposedly for exporting of rice from Kakinada – was the recipient of the consignment of heroin, declared as semi-processed talcum powder, being imported from Afghanistan to Mundra Port via Bandar Abbas Port in Iran.
The Andhra Pradesh police, however, denied the allegation that the heroin was meant for distribution within the state. Vijayawada city police commissioner B Srinivasulu said the consignment was not meant to reach Vijayawada. “Except for using the address of a house owned by Vaishali’s mother, no activity relating to drug peddling was noticed in Vijayawada,” Srinivasulu said.
The TDP, however, alleged that thousands of crores had changed hands in the drug peddling in the state. “Drug mafia is ruling the roost in the state and import of drugs, supply of ganja, gutka have become common. The YSRCP leaders have emerged as drug dons and smuggling kings,” a statement from the TDP on Monday said.
At the review meeting in the afternoon, the chief minister, however, accused the opposition leaders of falsely propagating a drug deal which was not connected to the state. “The opposition is making irresponsible statements to tarnish the image of the police department, the government as well as the people,” he said.
