Despite erstwhile SAD-BJP regime’s call for “war against drugs”, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed at the lack of adequate equipment, trained sniffer dogs, specialised staff to check the deadly menace of drugs.
The CAG, in its report tabled on Thursday during the ongoing Budget session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, stated that Punjab Home Affairs and Justice Department lacked adequate surveillance and modern equipment, specialized staff and narcotic trained sniffer dogs in combating the drug problem in the State.
A review of records of the Punjab State Narcotic Control Bureau (PSNCB) and seven police districts including Amritsar, Jalandhar, Fazilka and Gurdaspur was conducted for the period 2013-14 to 2016-17 to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the enforcement of ‘The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act’.
The report stated that no surveillance or modern equipment, useful for enforcement of illicit drug trafficking, had been installed at the exit points of various vulnerable public places like railway station, bus terminus, highway, etc.
It added that the there was no narcotic trained sniffer dog in the State till May 2016. Out of seven selected police districts, one sniffer dog each in only Bathinda and Jalandhar districts was available and no sniffer dog was deployed in police stations of remaining five districts.
As per the report, a total of 9,050 drug peddlers were identified by the police Department and 82,450 kg of narcotics were seized during 2013-17.
Combating illicit drug trafficking requires resources in terms of police personnel trained specifically to deal with the drug menace and suitable equipment for surveillance, detection and seizure of drugs.
The audit observed that though the state of Punjab was confronted with the drug problem for a while, it lacked adequate resources to effectively combat this problem.
The police officials dealing with drug law enforcement were also handling general duties of maintaining law and order, it pointed.
The CAG report stated that the grant of Rs 32 lakhs sanctioned by NCB in October 2016 for the procurement of surveillance and other equipment and vehicles which could not be utilized as the same was not released by the state government till September 2017.
As per report, during 2013-17, a total of 5,099 accused were convicted and 756 were acquitted by the courts, of which 532 (70 per cent) accused were acquitted on the grounds that there was difference in the statements of the witnesses.
It was further noticed that the witnesses in most of these cases were police officers/officials who were involved in arresting the culprits, report said.