Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 18: The Government today said that 2,498 cases under NDPS Act were registered and 3,255 persons arrested across the State in last four years.
Replying to the joint question of MLCs, Ramesh Arora, Qaiser Jamsheed Lone and Ajat Shatru Singh in the Upper House today, Minister In-charge Health, Bali Bhagat said that in the last four years from 2014 to November 2017, 2498 cases under NDPS Act were reported and in these cases 3,255 persons were found involved and arrested by the agencies.
Replying to another question Bali Bhagat further said that in 2014, 405 cases were registered and 557 persons were arrested, in 2015, 588 cases were registered and 597 persons were arrested in 2016, 617 cases were registered and 888 persons were arrested whereas, during 2017 till November, 888 cases were registered and 1213 persons were arrested in the State.
He, however, admitted that the drug menace was rapidly increasing in the State and destroying younger generation.
The Minister said, backbone of the drug mafia has been broken within Jammu and Kashmir to large extent because of which the cultivation of charas, poppy straw and been brought down considerably, some isolated and remote incidents come to fore that are being looked into,” replied the Minister.
The action as warranted under law in taken against the accused persons and during the preceding years, 11 cases in Kashmir division and more than 20 cases in Jammu division have been registered and are either pending disposal or under trial, the Minister added.
Raising serious allegations, NC member Qaiser Jamsheed Lone said that Minister was giving wrong reply concealing fact that no crop is being sown on forest land, while the naked truth is that in Kamraj Forest Division `Charas’ / Bhung crop is sown by the locals and some influential political people are involved. They are minting money. He said the issue was projected by some forest officers in the recent past and crop on large area was also destroyed by them. The Committee on Forest and Environment had also highlighted the issue while Minister for Health was concealing the facts. It is very unfortunate.
Then Minister for Forests and Ecology Ch Lal Singh who was also sitting in the House stood up and said no such crop will remain until he is Forest Minister. He said the matter has come to his notice and all such crop will be finished on forest land and the result will be before you all, he assured the NC member. Ajat Shatru Singh said that conviction rate was very low in drugs cases and there was need to take corrective measures. Arora suggested to set up rehabilitation centres like Punjab and other States in J&K too, as the number of drugs cases are on the rise.
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