Meghalaya police has sent a proposal to the State government to put habitual drug peddlers under preventive detention through sections of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic (PIT) in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
Director General of Police, Dr. Lajja Ram Bishnoi told reporters at a press conference today that most of the drug peddlers arrested in the state are repeat offenders who obtain bail from the courts and then get back to drug peddling.
“We have submitted 10 proposals to the government and these are under considerations. The government has already constituted an advisory board and once the proposals are approved we will be able to put these repeat offenders under preventive detention, even if there are no seizures from them,” Bishnoi said.
He said drug seizure cases also fail in the court of law because of procedural lapses by investigating officers. “We have constituted a supervisory committee chaired by SP CID, who will call IOs with case diary and supervise the investigation process, so that our cases do not fail in the court and so that prosecution can be ascertain against the culprits,” he added.
Bishnoi said another problem faced by Meghalaya police is lack of equipments in the Forensic Science Laboratory. He said he has written to DGP in Mizoram and the laboratory in Aizawl assists Meghalaya in sample test.
Stating that Meghalaya is in the grip of drug abuse the DGP said, “Drug abuse has spread from the urban to the rural areas. Now even young girls have fallen prey to drug abuse in the state.”
He also said that inter-state gang of drug peddlers have become more active. “Nearly 25 per cent of drug traffickers arrested are native of Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar and Bengal. So we are coordinating with other states to put an end to the menace.”
The DGP also said drug seizures are just the tip of the iceberg and Meghalaya police will now concentrate on preventive aspects with the help of dorbar shnongs.
In the last six months, police have organised 345 awareness camps throughout the state to educate the youth about the repercussions of drug abuse, he informed, adding there is a need for coordinated efforts from all stakeholders.
