Telangana to stamp out drug menace

Hyderabad: The Telangana Government proposes to curb the fast-growing drug menace in the State. It has decided to put film celebrities and foreign visitors from drug smuggling countries, mainly African nations, under police radar.

After several incidents of involvement of celebrities in drug cases, usage of drugs in various pubs and rave parties, and reports that cultivation of ganja had gone up in the State, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Friday held a meeting with the police and excise officials, including DGP M Mahender Reddy.

The meeting decided to constitute special teams to monitor the close links between drug peddlers and film personalities and people from high society.

The Chief Minister told the police officials to stop entertaining political influence to protect the accused in the drug abuse cases. He said the Police department would have absolute powers to take action against the drug smugglers.

He announced auxiliary promotions and special increments to the cops who excelled in their duties in curbing drug use. But there is no mention about how to deal if any political links between the peddlers or consumers were found.

The police officials told the CM how Scotland Yard cops handle drug abuse cases. Following this, KCR asked DGP to send a team to Scotland to study the system followed there. But interestingly, reports from Scotland indicate that Scotland itself is in the midst of a drug crisis. The UK and Scottish Governments take divergent approaches. The UK Government treats the problem of drugs as a criminal justice matter, whereas the Scottish Government believes it should be addressed as a health issue.

The CM, according to an official press note, discussed with the officials the use of technology by the Scotland Police and also the Punjab government to contain the drugs particularly by youth.

He wanted not a single arrested drug peddler to go unpunished due to the failure of police in producing sufficient evidence in the courts. The Excise officials have been asked to pay special focus on ganja smuggling from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and also other states into Telangana. KCR also asked Police and Excise officials to conduct joint raids on ganja smuggling dens and eradicate the menace completely in Hyderabad and other urban areas. KCR asked the officials to crack whip on closed industries whose premises are being used as hideouts and take stringent measures. The Police Commissioners of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda were instructed to conduct an in-depth study on drug trafficking and take necessary action to root out the menace.