Pathankot cops fan out in villages, identify addicts for treatment

Last week, the Pathankot police nabbed two persons and clamped stringent sections of the NDPS Act and subsequently sent them behind bars.

The Division No. 2 police station had arrested Rahul Mehta with 21 grams of heroin. The investigation revealed that he was working along with Aman Sharma, who was using his car to sell drugs.

Officers said these two boys could had been directly sent to the rehabilitation centre but for the fact that a large quantity of heroin was recovered from them.

The police have developed a modus-operandi wherein any person caught with barely 1 or 2 grams of heroin is sent to the rehabilitation centre with the permission of the court. In other cases, the cops are fanning out into villages to identify addicts who are then sent to de-addiction centres where they are detoxified and sent back to mainstream society.

Although there are no official records available, yet senior officers admit that Pathankot has the lowest number of addicts in the state. SSP Daljinder Singh Dhillon said, “In other districts, villagers give a safe haven for people carrying heroin or who are finding a place to hide the drugs. In Pathankot district, people have been sensitised about the dangers of providing shelter to addicts. Nobody in villages, particularly those located near the International Border (IB), now give shelter to such people,” he said.

Another factor that works in favour of the police is the huge concentration of ex-servicemen in and around the city. “These ex-army men are very strict about giving shelter. On the contrary, they inform us if they see any person selling heroin in or around their village or if anyone is seen consuming the powder, even if it means he belongs to their village,” said an officer.

So far, 700 youngsters have been treated at 10 Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) centres in the district. The anti-opium drug, Buprenorphine, is available at these centres.

The Pathankot police have enforced a three-pronged strategy of “enforcement, prevention and rehabilitation” to eradicate drugs. As a part of the strategy, cops have been promoting and creating awareness about Section 64-A of the NDPS Act, which gives an opportunity for a drug consumer caught with a few grams of heroin or narcotic powder for rehabilitation instead of sending them to prison.

Section 64-A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, provides for immunity from prosecution for addicts who voluntarily seek treatment for their de-addiction. This provision aims to decriminalise drug users and prioritise rehabilitation over punishment.