Eight of nine accused in NDPS cases convicted last month in Karnal district

In a major push against drug-related crimes, the Karnal district reported a strong conviction rate under the NDPS Act, with eight out of nine cases resulting in passing of sentence against the accused during the month of April.

The data was shared during a review meeting of the District-Level Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) Committee held at the Mini-Secretariat. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh.

Pankaj Saini, Deputy Director, Prosecution-cum-District Attorney, informed that nine cases registered under the NDPS Act were decided in April, of which convictions were secured in eight cases, while one accused was acquitted. Besides, four new cases were registered under the Act in May, he said.

The Deputy Commissioner directed officials to work in coordination to make Haryana a drug-free state. Superintendent of Police (SP) Ganga Ram Punia also encouraged officials to make joint efforts to achieve the goal.

During the meeting, the health authorities shared that at present, eight-de-addiction centres were operating in the district of which one was government-run, seven private and one provisional private. In May, seven of these centres were inspected. The authorities said 10 high-risk villages in terms of drug abuse had been identified.

In May, 361 patients visited OPDs and 33 were admitted to IPDs at de-addiction centres. A total of 39 people have successfully quit substance abuse, while treatment for 6,527 patients is going on at these centres.

As part of the awareness initiatives, 12 camps were organised, through which 50 persons struggling with addiction were identified. At present, forty-three persons are undergoing treatment to shun the habit of substance abuse.

The District Social Welfare Department shared plans to conduct awareness workshops in higher education and technical institutions. The Deputy Commissioner instructed officials that before organising such sessions, it must be ensured who subject experts or speakers were and which age group would be targeted.