Manipur Director General of Police P Doungel on Wednesday announced that Chief Minister N Biren Singh had given directives to take up all necessary measures to end the menace of drugs and to make Manipur a drug free state.
DGP told the media at his office chamber located at Babupara that N Biren issued the directive during the first meeting of the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) that was conducted at the cabinet hall of Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
He said that the Manipur Police department under the leadership of N Biren has been making continuous efforts in combating the menace of drugs as a part of the ‘War on Drugs’.
A dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) which shall also function as the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) Secretariat for the state was constituted on March 5 by an order of the State Home department to facilitate effective coordination among the various drug law and enforcement agencies, he added. He said NCORD has 10 members headed by an additional director general of police (intelligence).
The ANTF was reconstituted by an order of the state Home department on March 22, and it is now headed by inspector general of Police, Zone II, Nishit Kumar Ujjwal and its other members are representatives from principal chief conservator of forest, Manipur; deputy inspector general of Police (Intelligence/NAB) director (TA and Hills); director (Social Welfare); joint/deputy secretary Home; director Horticulture; managing director, Cyber Corporation (IT); director, Manipur Remote Sensing Application Centre (MARSAC) and SP, NAB, said Doungel.
Further, the DGP continued that in order to destroy cultivation of poppy, cannabis cultivated areas, satellite imaginaries and drones will be utilised for identification of the cultivated areas. All important transit routes and vulnerable areas will be manned immediately to check cultivation of poppy, cannabis, processing of drugs, illicit trafficking and sale of drugs, he said.
He said poppy, cannabis cultivators, drug peddlers, traffickers and those involved in processing of drugs will be dealt with strictly by invoking Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act.
Under the Act, a person can be detained for one year and it can be extended to two years in areas highly vulnerable to illicit trafficking of drugs like Manipur. Under the Act, eight persons have been detained since March 2020, he added.
As directed by the state government, the investigation of NDPS cases shall be exploited and the maximum efforts will be made to establish the linkages and kingpins in order to book them as per provision of law and also to bring the investigation of the NDPS cases to logical conclusion at the earliest, the DGP said.
He said the state Police department will work in coordination with various CSOs, local clubs, village chief, any other organisations and individuals in combating the menace of drugs.
DGP said that the police department destroyed around 1,950 acres of poppy cultivation from December last 2021 to February 2022.
