Akun in the eye of storm

Hyderabad: It appears that the State government has come under pressure from the private school managements’ lobby, considered to be one of the powerful lobbies in the State, after the Prohibition and Excise Department made it public that a drug ring has made its inroads into educational institutions.

It may be recalled the Director of Prohibition and Excise Enforcement wing, Akun Sabharwal had told media that students from as many as 26 schools and 27 colleges in the City were found to be regular clients of the drug ring operated by Calvin.

While the news went viral, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Education, Kadiyam Srihari took objection to the disclosure made by the IPS officer. The Minister openly stated that an entire school or college cannot be blamed if one or two students were found to be substance abusers.

It is learnt the Minister did not stop there. He is said to have summoned Akun Sabharwal on Thursday and reprimanded him for what the Minister considers as ‘making things sensational’. He is also learnt to have directed Akun Sabharwal to slow down the pace and consult him before taking any step against educational institutions.

The Minister is also learnt to have called up the Director General of Police and asked the latter to keep tabs on the Excise Enforcement wing director.

Sources in the department said, Akun Sabharwal was upset over this and ‘fell sick’ since Thursday. He did not address the media on Thursday though two more drug peddlers were arrested. The IPS officer ‘politely refused to speak’ on the ground that he was unwell.

Sources further said that the Prohibition and Excise Department had taken a bold step for the first time to curb the growing menace of drugs in educational institutions and to save school children from becoming addicts. The private school managements are afraid because any adverse findings in the investigations would bring disrepute to their institutions and cause serious loss to the institutions.

By B G RAJESWAR