Ludhiana police achieve 93.29% conviction rate in drug cases

Setting a record of sorts in drug smuggling cases and ensuring punishment for smugglers by thoroughly following the process of court, the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate has achieved 93.29 per cent conviction rate in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cases. It became possible with the efforts of Commissioner of Police (CP) Swapan Sharma and his entire team.

As per the data procured from the Ludhiana police pertaining to the period from January 1 to August 31 as many as 164 cases of drug smuggling were decided in the court, of which smugglers were convicted in 153 drug cases. The cases include commercial (heavy) and non-commercial (small) recoveries. Hence, the percentage of conviction rate stands at 93.29.

The data revealed that under the commercial drug recovery category from January to August this year, 20 drug cases were decided by courts, of which conviction was achieved in 19 cases and the conviction rate comes at 95 per cent.

While in non-commercial category, 144 cases were decided by the courts, of which conviction was achieved in 134 cases. Hence, the conviction rate in commercial recoveries stands at 93.5 per cent.

The Commissioner of Police while talking to The Tribune over the success of conviction rate here on Sunday said under the ongoing campaign Yudh Nashian Virudh, the Ludhiana police have achieved a 93.29 per cent conviction rate and it became possible with regular monitoring of drug cases to ensure that every fact presented in the court should be with proper evidence.

“In months to come, I assure the Ludhiana police will achieve 100 per cent conviction rate in drug smuggling cases. Now, each case, whether of commercial or non-commercial quantity, is being monitored from day one of registration of the drug case and then at each level, after the charge sheet is filed in the court,” Sharma said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigation) Harpal Singh, who supervises the campaign, said: “The Ludhiana police have launched many targeted drug operations and these were conducted after doing days of field work. The police identify drug hot spots and collect intelligence about peddlers to ensure the operations become successful”.

15 properties of drug smugglers demolished

The DCP (Investigation) said in the past eight months, the Ludhiana police freezed as many as 29 properties of drug smugglers worth Rs 15.87 crore. Many other properties will also be attached in days to come. Besides, 15 properties of drug smugglers were also demolished by the police in eight months.