HYDERABAD: After the State Prohibition and Excise department busted a drug racket which snowbolled into a sensational case reaching the doorsteps of Tollywood personalities, excise enforcement director Akun Sabharwal on Friday spoke on how it all began. Speaking to students at the English and Foreign Languages University, Sabharwal recalled he received a call on July 1 from the station regarding a drug peddler not cooperating with the police. “I went to the station in my casual shorts and chappals to the station to know more about the peddler,” said Sabharwal.
Possibly not knowing who Sabharwal was, in his unassuming attire, the peddler started throwing big names. “I ordered a cup of coffee for him to prolong the conversation and started noting down information,” he said. As details unravelled, a special investigation team (SIT) was formed to look into the drug network functioning in Hyderabad with victims cutting across several premiere schools and eminent personalities.
Though the glamour part has ended, Akun said that investigations are still underway. “A total of 11 cases have been registered as of now and a series of meetings were being held with our legal experts to look into the evidence collected both documentary and technical,” he said. We will be filing chargesheets in the court by mid-September which would go on till late November as the results from the forensic department usually takes time, he said. “In India the conviction rate in these cases is just about 35 per cent and I wouldn’t be happy if we do not get any convictions in this case,” Sabharwal said.
Say no to drugs
Akun Sabharwal was invited to speak on ‘Marching towards a drug-free nation: Role of educational institutions’. Speaking at the meeting, Shabarwal said that drug use is a form of illness and it needs to be treated. “The best way out is to say no whenever one is asked to do drugs,” he said.