According to sources, the police department of South Zone (comprising the districts of Madurai, Virudhunagar, Dindigul, Theni, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tirunelveli, and Tenkasi) has been taking various measures to curb the ganja smuggling and selling by taking action against the offenders. In 2022 alone, they attached Rs 12.5 crore worth of properties from the offenders and their relatives, in connection with 13 ganja cases in the south zone limit. A total of 1,956 bank accounts of the ganja-case accused and their relatives have been frozen. They also obtained bonds from 1,377 suspects. A total of 58 offenders who violated the bond conditions were arrested. In January alone, 255 bonds were obtained.
Further, the department opened history sheets held against 624 accused persons -- 85 in Madurai, 132 in Virudhunagar, 131 in Dindigul, 59 in Theni, 26 in Ramanathapuram, 26 in Sivaganga, 46 in Tirunelveli rural, 15 in Tenkasi, 28 in Thoothukudi, 59 in Kanniyakumari and 17 in Tirunelveli city. "Usually history sheets are maintained against law and order and crime-accused persons to curb the offense but the South Zone police opened the history sheet against ganja sellers and smugglers to eradicate the sales and smuggling," said the police officials.
The police, quoting the 34 of the NDPS Act (Security for abstaining from the commission of offence), have requested the special court to obtain bonds from the convicts linked to ganja smuggling and sales cases during convictions. So far the court has obtained bonds from 54 convicts in recent days. An officer said in some cases the accused may be convicted with simple punishment or ordered to pay a fine alone. Upon release, within a few weeks of paying the fine, these convicts might get involved in the ganja business again. Hence the police department requested the special court to obtain the bond as per the NDPS Act, following which, the court has been doing so.
"This would create additional fear among the convicts. These bonds will prevent the convicts who received minimum punishment (depending on the minor offences like selling 100 gm of ganja) to engage further in the ganja business. Usually, the police seek to obtain a bond for three years and the court decides the tenure period whether it is one, two, or three years," the officer said.