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Padma Rao to flag off Anti-Drug Walk
Excise Minister T Padma Rao Goud on Thursday said Hyderabad would be made a drugs-free city as per the directive of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. The Minister agreed to participate in the ‘Anti-Drugs Walk’ at KBR Park on July 30, at 7 am. He will flag off the walk. Movie Artistes Association (MAA) president Shivaji Raja and secretary Naresh on Thursday met the Minister and extended the invit
Hyderabad: Excise Minister T Padma Rao Goud on Thursday said Hyderabad would be made a drugs-free city as per the directive of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. The Minister agreed to participate in the ‘Anti-Drugs Walk’ at KBR Park on July 30, at 7 am. He will flag off the walk. Movie Artistes Association (MAA) president Shivaji Raja and secretary Naresh on Thursday met the Minister and extended the invitation to participate in the walk against drugs.
Speaking to media persons at his chambers later, Padma Rao Goud said Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe was going on and culprits would be punished if found guilty. Appreciating the MAA efforts in organising the walk to make the city free from drugs menace, Goud said SIT probe was going on in a transparent manner.
He avoided a query on the rumours that cine folk were being harassed and targeted in this regard.
The Excise Minister said the State government would use iron hand against the illegal business of sale and consumption of drugs in the State in general and Hyderabad in particular. He maintained that stringent measures would be taken against those who were involved in the drugs case. “All efforts will be taken to protect children and youth from falling prey to the malady”.
Shivaji Raja and Naresh also discussed the recent developments including the ongoing questioning of film actors by SIT. They assured the Minister that MAA would do everything that was necessary to curb the drug menace. The Minister, while appreciating the initiative of the film industry, said that they did not intend to target any one section or industry in particular. The government wanted to make Hyderabad a drug free city, he said.
Meanwhile, a government release quoted him as saying, “So far, 15 persons have been arrested. We will punish the guilty, however big they are,”. The State Excise Department has been examining several popular film personalities regarding the drug racket. The Minister said 3,000 units of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 45 grams of cocaine and other narcotics and psychotropic substances had been recovered so far. He said 12 people in the film industry and 11 bars and pubs had been issued notices.
Information had been obtained that those studying in 26 schools and 27 colleges and employees of 25 IT companies had procured drugs from those arrested, Rao said. The racket was involved in the supply of high-end drugs such as LSD and methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA). The investigators suspected that film personalities, employees of MNCs, school and college students were among its clients, the release quoted him as saying.
