Stepping up offensive on drugs smugglers and traders, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered shunting out of police officials suspected of connivance with drug peddlers and smugglers to far-flung areas.
With this, he also ordered to constitute an inter-departmental committee for intensified and coordinated efforts against the drugs menace.
The inter-departmental committee will consist of Principal Secretary (Social Security), Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare), Principal Secretary (Education) and Secretary (Sports).
The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting to review the progress of the Special Task Force (STF) in curbing the drugs problem in the State.
The Chief Minister also asked Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh to take up with the Director General of Police (DGP) the issue of strict surveillance of the staff posted in the police stations of border districts in order to break the nexus between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the State police officials with the drugs smugglers, and check smuggling of drugs from across the border.
lauding the efforts of the Special Task Force (STF) in controlling the drugs menace, Capt Amarinder underlined the need for a more coordinated approach to tackle the problem.
STF chief Harpreet Singh Sidhu, making a detailed presentation to the Chief Minister, said that illegal business of drugs could not thrive without the connivance of certain mid-level police personnel serving in plum border postings for the past several years.
He called for immediate steps to shift these cops to far-flung areas to break their nexus with the drugs smugglers or traders. He also called for shifting out of health department officials found conniving with drug smugglers and peddlers.
Taking serious note of Sidhu’s observations, the Chief Minister directed the Chief Secretary to take up the issue with the state police chief to get the errant police personnel transferred without any delay. He noted that any complacency on this count would regress the government’s efforts in ridding the state of the drugs scourge. Capt Amarinder also urged the Education department to launch sensitization drives for students in schools, colleges and universities on the dangers of drugs abuse.
He suggested use of animated films to showcase the harmful effects of drugs in order to wean youngsters away from them.
Appreciating the Community Partnership Structure proposed by the STF to contain drug abuse, the Chief Minister said that Drug Abuse Prevention Officers (DAPOs) would play a proactive role in creating awareness amongst the youth to stay away from drugs, besides helping the government to rehabilitate victims of the drugs menace.
The STF chief informed the meeting that members of Zila Parishad and Block Samiti, Sarpanches, Panches, Councillors, Government Teachers, Patwaris, Professors, Assistant Professors, Panchayat Secretaries, MPHWs and Nambardars would act as DAPOs across the state.
He further said that former Sarpanches, Panches, ex-servicemen, government servants, farmers, private school teachers, doctors should also be aggressively involved in creating awareness amongst the youth about the ill effects of the drugs and in countering misinformation being spread by the vested interests.
The STF Chief also suggested a three-tier training programme for DAPOs, which would include two-day state level training to 200 master trainers and district wise training to trainer teams. A trainer team would comprise police officers and NGO representatives.