SHILLONG: Home Minister, James Sangma on Friday expressed concern over the increasing drug menace in the state while asserting that public shaming and ostracization of drug addicts is not a healthy practice.
The statement of the Home Minister assumes significance as there have been few unconfirmed reports of drug addicts being shamed by the people in different localities.
Samgma informed that the department is monitoring the situation while also admitting that drug menace is real.
With the drastic increase of drug users in the state, the home minister said that public shaming and ostracisation of drug addicts is not the solution to eradicate the problem of drugs. These people need to be rehabilitated which is not an easy process, he said.
“I will assure the people that we are concerned about the drug menace and we want to ensure that we can get rid of this menace as fast as possible,” Sangma said.
When asked about amending the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, he said that the Act can be amended only in Parliament as it is a central act, while adding that the particular Act makes things challenging but it is good to streamline the situation.
To a query, Sangma said that handling militancy and drug menace requires different yardsticks as these are two different issues.
Lamenting that suppliers of drugs are flourishing as drug menace is a problem which is demand driver, he, however, claimed that the state police are on the job to nab the culprits who are in supply chain.
Underlining the important role to be played by the society for tackling the challenge, he said the government would do everything as per the law and within the framework of the Constitution to tackle the menace of drugs.
The menace of drugs is spreading its deadly tentacles in the city while youths are falling to its deadly trap.
In the capital city, the number of drug users and peddlers has increased drastically and the menace has turned out to be the biggest challenge for the police and the society as well.
In the last couple of years, police have arrested many small time drug peddlers throughout the city and seized substantial amount of heroin.
The police achieved a major breakthrough and arrested three prominent suppliers of heroin from the city and seized drugs worth crores of rupees.
It is learnt that heroin is the most common drug among drug addicts in the city.
The menace has assumed such proportions in the city that some drug addicts are even resorting to looting and killing people for drug money.
Recently, a local taxi driver was kidnapped, money forcibly taken by using his ATM card and then brutally killed by alleged drugs addicts.
It is said that police need the coordination of all the central agencies in the fight against drugs, adding that big time peddlers should not get bail so easily.
The situation of drug menace is considered to be grim in Meghalaya as earlier this month, an operation was conducted by ANTF team of Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills and the staff from Pasteur Beat House against the drug mafia operating in Polo area and they apprehended as many as 14 persons and recovered some amount of contraband items.
Last year, Shillong Police had seized Rs 2.9 crore worth of the banned drug called World is Yours (WY) and arrested three peddlers.