Wipe out drugs till May 31 or face action: DGP to officers

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday issued a stern ultimatum to the district police chiefs to bring drugs availability on the streets to zero by May 31, or they should be prepared to face the accountability.

Yadav, who was accompanied by Special DGP (Internal Security) RN Dhoke, ADGP Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Nilabh Kishore and ADGP (Law and Order) Naresh Arora, said this while chairing a high-level meeting of Inspector Generals of Police/Deputy Inspector Generals (IGPs/DIGs) and Commissioners of Police/Senior Superintendents of Police (CPs/SSPs).

“We have fixed the accountability of officers, including CPs/SSPs, DSPs and SHOs. They will be held accountable for failing to wipe out drugs from their respective areas,” he said. “After May 31, performance of all officers will be assessed with the help of professional parameters, intelligence and feedback from the public,” said Yadav.

He said, “Officers doing good work will be rewarded. Those found wanting will be punished.”

The DGP pointed out that there were no set targets and their sole objective was to break the supply chains.

He said the CPs/SSPs had already been directed to trace forward and backward linkages of the cases being registered under the NDPS Act.

Yadav said they discussed several mechanisms and techniques to go after big fish by leveraging use of technology as a force multiplier.

He said, “With criminals using virtual numbers to evade arrest, we have devised a foolproof strategy to catch them.” He said the Punjab Police had been focusing on 755 drug hotspots with effective cordon and search operations.

All departments, including health and education, had joined hands to wipe-out the scourge of drugs from the state, stated the DGP. He urged residents to report drug traffickers anonymously on “Safe Punjab Anti-Drug” helpline 97791-00200.