SHILLONG: With the spurt in cases of drug abuse in parts of the city, the police want the issue to be treated as a social problem and not as mere crime.
The East Khasi Hills SP, Davis Marak, said drug abuse is gradually becoming a social problem rather than an issue to be treated as crime alone.
He said intervention of society and collective effort is the need of the hour to check the trend.
According to the police officer, parents should not abandon children who are addicts and instead should have compassion.
Broken families too add to the current problem as children are not given proper attention.
Another cause for concern is affluent parents who pamper their children by providing pocket money as there is a chance to misuse it.
The frequent bail given to the accused in narcotics cases has also become a concern for law enforcers as once they are out of jail, the addicts resort to old habits.
Marak said though there are many reasons for granting bail to the accused, more reformation centres for de-addiction is needed.
The police official said there are several instances where out-of-jail accused were re-arrested for committing the same crime.
“There are not many centres for de-addiction and a major concern is that some families have given up on drug addicts and this approach is not good,” Marak
said.
With international cartel behind the pumping of various drugs into the country’s vulnerable areas, including Meghalaya, the police have asked the youths to resist the temptation as complete annihilation of the cartel is not possible.
The SP said the trend is that the use of drugs is mostly linked to juveniles.
Drug abuse by the youth has also resulted in various crimes, which include theft, human trafficking and prostitution.
Vulnerable areas
According to the district police chief, the vulnerable areas include Madanriting-Happy Valley, Jhalupara, Bara Bazar, Paltan Bazar, Police Bazar, Polo-Nongmynsong, Nongthymmai, Laitumkhrah and Mawlai.
The police official said there are reports that from Madanriting, the narcotics are being ferried to other parts of the country. He added that the consignment of narcotics is smuggled from Myanmar to the bordering northeastern states like Mizoram and Manipur.
From the North East, drugs also reach Punjab and other North Indian states.
