Senior Congress leader and Amritsar MP Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday said that mere arrest of drug addicts will not help curbing the menace in Punjab as drug supply is the real concern to fight with.

“The indiscriminate arrest of drug addicts across Punjab without providing them de-addiction treatment will serve no purpose unless drug peddlers are caught and punished,” said Capt Amarinder while referring to arrest of drug addicts by police in several parts of the state.

“Akalis, after having realised that people are angry with them over spreading the scourge of drugs across the state, are now trying to befool people by launching the crackdown which does not address the basic problem,” said the Congress Working Committee member.

He said: “Drug addiction is just a symptom, while drug peddling is the main disease and you cannot cure the disease by merely treating the symptoms. Arresting an addict is no big achievement, let the government say how many suppliers it has put behind bars so far.”

“The suppliers will find new users and may further spread the scourge as they know how to trap innocent youth into addiction,” warned Capt Amarinder, stating that the arrest of addicts should be more for de-addiction and rehabilitation than throwing them into jail and treating them in an inhuman manner as if they were hardened criminals.

“There needs to be a distinction between a drug addict and a criminal. The way the state government is dealing with them is like criminals…They need treatment and rehabilitation and not cruel treatment they are meted out…If the drug addicts are not treated for de-addiction, it can prove even fatal for them,” he said.

He regretted that animals were treated in a much better way than the police have been reportedly treating the drug addicts and their families during the crackdown.