Accused in 655 drugs cases not arrested for over 6 months: Haryana DGP tells HC

The Haryana Director-General of Police (DGP) has told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the accused persons in 655 drug cases across the State have not been arrested for more than six months, even as efforts were on by field units to apprehend them.

In an affidavit placed on record, DGP Shatrujeet Kapur submitted: “Reports received from all police field units convey that in 655 cases the accused persons have not been arrested for more than six months. Efforts are being made to arrest the accused persons.”

The affidavit went on to state that action had been initiated in 37 cases where the investigating officers were found negligent. Referring to the follow-up steps taken, the DGP said: “Accused person in 11 cases have been declared proclaimed offenders, whereas in 29 cases steps have been taken to get accused persons declared as proclaimed offender under the provisions of Section 84 BNSS.”

The DGP, at the same time, added: “In no case, application has been moved so far before courts for attachment of the moveable and immovable properties of absconders.”

The affidavit added that all police field units had been directed through a letter dated September 11 “to make all out efforts to arrest the accused persons in these cases and avail all appropriate legal remedies available including getting the accused persons declared as proclaimed offender(s) and also initiate proceedings for attachment of properties of the proclaimed offenders who are evading arrest.”

The details came just about a month after the High Court expressed strong displeasure over the lack of supervision in NDPS investigations and directed the State DGP to file a comprehensive affidavit with details of cases where accused had not been arrested for over six months, steps taken against negligent investigating officers, and whether proceedings had been initiated to declare absconders as proclaimed offenders or to attach their properties.

The direction by Justice N S Shekhawat’s Bench came during the hearing of a petition seeking transfer of investigation from the local police to an independent investigating agency or to issue appropriate directions to the official respondents to conduct fairly and impartially investigation in the case registered on February 6 under the provisions of the NDPS Act at Mandi Dabwali police station. The was assisted in the matter by advocates Aditya Sanghi and Kartik Mittal.

“Even in various cases, this court has also noticed that there is no supervision of investigation of cases, which were registered under the provisions of the NDPS Act in various districts in the State of Haryana,” Justice Shekhawat asserted while issuing the directions.