Further intensify crackdown on big fishes involved in drug trade: Chief Secretary Directs STF

•    BATS FOR ENSURING EXEMPLARY PUNISHMENT OF HABITUAL OFFENDERS
•    CHAIRS MEETING OF NCORD, ORDERS STRICT COMPLIANCE OF CM ORDERS REGARDING CONFISCATION OF PROPERTIES OF DRUG PEDDLERS
 

Chandigarh, June 26, 2024: The Chief Secretary Anurag Verma on Wednesday batted for strict compliance with the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to curb the menace of drugs.

Chairing a state level meeting of the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD), the Chief Secretary Mr. Verma asked the Special Task Force (STF) of Police to focus on big drug traffickers who deal with commercial quantities and ensure strict punishment to them for their crimes. Underlining the need for publicity of Sec 31 of the NDPS act, he said that it is the need of the hour to publicise the stringent provisions of this act regarding punishment to habitual offenders. Likewise, Mr. Verma batted for effective training of Investigating Officers/ District Attorneys to ensure that the violators of the law get rigorous punishment.

The Chief Secretary Verma said that the officers should ensure zealous compliance with the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann regarding the confiscation of property of the drug peddlers. He said that no stone should be left unturned for this noble cause as it is a crusade against drugs and the state government has adopted a zero tolerance policy against this curse. Verma said that the war against drugs should be transformed into a mass movement with the support of the general public and effective coordination between concerned departments along with central and state agencies adding that a detailed SOP regarding it has already been issued.

Emphasised on State Government’s commitment to the war against drugs on the eve of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Chief Secretary also said that a checklist of SOP shall be carried out by the IO during the investigation and all the steps taken should be duly tick marked by him on the finalization of the report. He also underscored the need for improving the monitoring of chemists across the state adding that the violating chemists who are repeatedly flouting the law should be severely punished by dismissing their licenses. He further said that out of around 30,000 Retail sale and whole sale chemists, only 134 wholesale chemists and 463 retail sale chemists have been allowed to stock and sell restricted drugs formulations.

Verma said that as per the directions of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, massive awareness activities should be started in the schools and colleges along with the promotion of sporting activities so that the unbounded energy of youth is channelized in a positive direction. Verma also directed the Taxation department to explore GSTIN and E way bills to monitor the movement of trucks carrying narcotic and psychotropic items. He also said that district level NCORD meetings should be held regularly to ensure better coordination between all the agencies at the state level.

The Meeting was attended by Special Chief Secretary Revenue KAP Sinha, Additional Chief Secretary Excise and Taxation Vikas Pratap, DGP Gaurav Yadav, Secretary Home Gurkirat Kripal Singh, Special DGP Special Task Force Kuldeep Singh, Secretary Health Ajoy Sharma, Director General School Education Vinay Bublani, Secretary Home Jaswinder Kaur, Director Social Security, Women and Child Development, Shena Aggarwal, Director SCERT and Director Elementary Education Amaninder Kaur Brar, Special Secretary Home Amandeep Kaur, Zonal Director NCB Chandigarh Amanjit Singh besides representatives of various central agencies.