PATNA: Bihar cadre IPS officer Kumar Ashish who is now posted in Kishanganj as Superintendent of Police (SP), is running one of a kind social campaign. Almost every day, the officer finds time to reach out to youths and convince them against falling prey to drugs and narcotic addictions.
“While many youths of the country are falling prey to the additions of drugs and narcotics, there are a few on the other hand who come ahead and inspire them to escape from such pernicious addiction”, Kumar Ashish told The New Indian Express.
He goes to schools of remote areas of Kishanganj district and stops wherever he sees the youths, students and others of the age group. “I first become their friend in uniform, not the SP of their district. I try to inform them the pernicious side effects of drugs and narcotics as a friend”, he said.
Kumar Ashish, who is known as 'the SP of the people', also educates the youngsters on the benefits of total prohibition implemented in the state. “Wherever I go, huge crowds including youth, school students, parents and enlightened citizens of the society gather and make a collective effort to prevent usages of drugs, various narcotics and liquor in the society. Today, the younger generation is falling in the grip of drugs. Our efforts are being made to give inspiration to the young generation. And if we save the people at the right time before falling into the grip of drugs, then it will be no less than service to the country for us”, he said.
Dangerous narcotic drugs and substances like charas, smack, cocaine, brown sugar, ganja, bhang, opium, zarda, gutkha, tobacco and alcohol are being widely used in society for intoxication. “Apart from causing physical, mental and economic harm to the person due to the consumption of these poisonous and intoxicating substances, it also pollutes the social environment”, he said.
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Thanks to the campaign of Kumar Ashish, the Kishanganj Police has lodged 1,070 cases related to liquor ban violations by arresting a total of 1,194 people since 2018. “We are not only educating the people through this campaign but also have seized a total of 1, 27,299 litres of liquor, including 94,294 litres of foreign liquor, 259 vehicles --124 two-wheelers and 135 four-wheelers”, the SP said. He claimed to have seized 803 kg ganja, 120 g smack, 260 g heroin, 203 g brown sugar, 752 g opium, 138 kg poppy plant among other drugs.
“ My campaign has also helped us in checking atrocities against women as we have registered a decrease of 20.93% since the beginning”, he said, adding that the cases of house-breaking(burglary), simple clashes, kidnapping for ransom, crimes against SC/ST and communal riots were also contained through social awareness against rugs and narcotics.