CHANDIGARH: The Punjab police are planning to introduce GPS-enabled anklets for drug smugglers out on bail to track their movements, taking a cue from their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir where Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) accused are monitored with these devices.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said here on Saturday, "In Jammu and Kashmir, GPS tracking anklets were started for UAPA accused who are bailed out. We are examining the proposal from a legal point of view. When an accused is released on bail, there are some conditions. After taking orders from competent courts, GPS anklets will be put on notorious smugglers out on bail to track their movements."
He said it will be done on a case-by-case basis and the right to privacy will be kept in mind.
Yadav said the police would also focus on drug users who have been released on bail. "We have devised a system of monitoring their activities by taking village elders and panchayats into confidence. Our objective is to integrate them into the mainstream. They (drug users) will be motivated to go to OAAT (Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment) clinics and drug de-addiction centres," he said.
The station house officers will call such people to police stations, and a self-declaration will be taken from them that they will neither consume drugs nor peddle them, he said. However, he said police will take action against repeat offenders.
Yadav said artificial intelligence software will be developed to upload information regarding arrested drug smugglers in districts into centralised data for forward and backwards linkages.
He further said de-addiction centres will be started in jails for drug users who are put behind bars.
Replying to a question on deploying an anti-drone system to check smuggling of drugs and weapons, Yadav said the order for the system has been placed and it is expected to be delivered by August.
Sharing details of the ongoing anti-drug drive, Yadav said a total of 13,038 people have been arrested and 8,344 FIRs have been lodged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Of the total arrested persons, 1,696 were “big fish”, he said.
He said police seized 586 kg heroin, 14,000 kg poppy husks, 247 kg opium, 253 kg ganja, 1.6 kg ICE and 25.70 lakh capsules and tablets during the drive.
Of the 1,205 drugs cases in which trial has been completed, conviction was secured in 1,085, which is 90 per cent. He added that 48 hawala operators were arrested and Rs 10.76 crore of hawala money was recovered.
“We are aiming to take our three-pronged strategy — enforcement de-addiction and prevention — forward to bring drug users into the mainstream. We have achieved major success in our goal of eliminating drugs from the state. This drive will continue relentlessly," Yadav said.
Asked whether Punjab is now a drug-free state, he said, "I can say that drug availability in the state has hugely reduced. There are pockets where drugs are available, but (earlier) there was a talk of easy availability (of drugs), there is no such thing now. I cannot say it (drugs) is totally eliminated because it is a cyclical thing, but major work has been done in this regard."
Last month, Yadav said senior police officers in districts had been directed to cut the drug supply lines by May 31 to make narcotics unavailable in the state.
Senior superintendents of police and commissioners will be rewarded for their good work, while those whose performance is not up to the mark will be held accountable, he said.