In a bid to clamp down the raging drug menace in Punjab, Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh on Monday recommended death penalty for the drug peddlers.
‘Decided to recommend death penalty for drug peddling/smuggling. Recommendation being forwarded to Centre. Since drug peddling is destroying entire generations, it deserves exemplary punishment. I stand by my commitment for drug free Punjab,’ the Chief Minister was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Singh-led Congress government has faced severe criticism after a number of people died last month reportedly due to drug overdose. The Akali Dal and the AAP have accused it of failing to control the menace. According to media reports, two people died over the past two weeks in Punjab's Faridpur and Amritsar districts due to drug abuse.
According to a 2014 report, Punjab Police had arrested nearly 11,000 people under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The report said that the conviction rate under NDPS Act filed against accused by Punjab police rose from 70.8 per cent in year 2010 to 80.5 per cent in 2013, it said.
Involvement of police
The drug menace, which was the backbone of the controversial movie ‘Udta Punjab’, is so deeply entrenched in the system that in some case even police is involved.
On June 29, on the Punjab Chief Minister’s order, the state police had suspended a DSP at the centre of a controversy involving charges of pushing a Ludhiana girl into drugs abuse.
The girl from Ludhiana had reportedly made the allegation against DSP Daljit Singh to ADCP 3 Ludhiana.
According to a police spokesperson, taking serious note of the allegations, and in view of the gravity of the charges, the chief minister had asked DGP Suresh Arora to ensure a proper inquiry into the matter and stern action against the DSP if found guilty.
Anita Punj, Director of the PPA Phillaur, has been directed to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the allegation and submit the report within a week, said the police spokesperson.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Picture for representation")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}