24 per cent applicants fail dope test for arms licence

Ravi Chandel

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 19

Ever since the state government made the dope test mandatory for getting arms licence or seeking its renewal, 24 per cent of the applicants in the district have been tested positive for using banned substances.

As per the data procured from the district health authorities, a total of 2,455 applicants have undergone dope test since January 25, of which approximately 600 have been found positive for using one or more banned substances, especially morphine, tramadol and codeine.

It has been clearly mentioned in the fresh norms that if an applicant is found dependent on any intoxicant or narcotic substance, his or her arms licence would be rejected.

According to sources in the Health Department, some applicants who had failed to clear the test were resorting to political pressure to seek a clean chit from the authorities.

Dr Arun Bansal (MD psychiatrist) from Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital said, “People have become more aware and clever these days as they often find one or the other way to escape from the situation. A majority of the people, who had failed the dope test, are again coming for it after a sustainable gap as they know that the impact of the banned substances doesn’t last long in the body.”

Satish Goel, SMO, Civil Hospital, confirmed that they were giving permission to the applicants, who had once failed the dope test, to undergo the test again.