In Punjab, 55,000 arms permit seekers dope +ve

As many as 55,318 of the 3,65,872 applicants who underwent the dope test while applying for an arms licence in Punjab have been found positive over the past eight years. The border district of Amritsar tops the list with 18,538 of the 61,158 applicants returning positive, followed by Tarn Taran with 6,100.

According to an RTI plea filed by activist Sanjeev Goyal, these applicants were tested since 2018. Every applicant paid Rs 1,500 for the test, though it costs the government just Rs 700. Punjab collected around Rs 55 crore by way of these tests.

The state is grappling with rising drug abuse with youngsters falling prey to “chitta”.

The government claims it is taking steps to save people from the drug menace.

The RTI information revealed that in Bathinda and Patiala — the home districts of two former chief ministers — 4,430 and 4,207 applicants, respectively, tested positive for dope. Pathankot is the only district with just six of the 2,744 applicants testing positive.

Interestingly, in 2016, the Centre had introduced a mandatory drug test for arms licences, but the authorities in most parts of Punjab did not implement it. However, in 2018, the Punjab Government made it mandatory for arms licence holders to clear a dope test before the renewal of the licence. Ex-servicemen and senior citizens were exempted from the test.

Punjab is one of the states with a high number of arms licence holders and where drug abuse is also rampant.

The aim of the test was to check the presence of psychoactive drugs in biological specimens. The main objective of the dope test was to identify substance users among those applying for an arms licence and to ensure that those on morphine, codeine, D-propoxyphene, benzodiazepines, cannabinol, barbiturates, cocaine, amphetamines, buprenorphine and tramadol among others, flunk the test.

Earlier this year, the state government ordered that any “person arrested under the NDPS Act would undergo a mandatory dope test” to determine whether he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the arrest. The proposal highlights that in many cases, the accused are already in an intoxicated state when apprehended, making it crucial to record this evidence through scientific testing.