Rs 50-crore heroin, smack used in Punjab jails daily ex-DGP
Former Punjab director general of police (DGP, prisons) Shashi Kant revealed before the Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday that as per his study, there was daily consumption of at least 10 kg of heroin and smack, estimated at Rs. 50 crore in the international market, in various jails of Punjab as a result of "political interference" and connivance of jail officials.
He also said that in many cases, narcotics cases were planted to "fix" some political opponent or to ensure that the "big fish" went scot-free and only small drug peddlers were arrested by the police. The retired officer stated that prisons were "no less than dens of drug addicts, besides the ticking time bomb of AIDS on account of rampant pervert s*xual practices therein."
Arguing himself before the court headed by chief justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Kant submitted that as an officer of the intelligence wing, he had given a report setting out the reasons for the spread of the drug menace. On this, the court directed the state government to produce the report in a sealed cover on the next date of hearing, September 10. The court also directed all parties concerned to submit their replies to the submissions and suggestions made by Kant for curbing the drug menace.
Kant, who retired from service in June 2012, submitted that when he took over as DGP (prisons) in September 2011, 50-55% inmates were estimated to be taking drugs in jails. The court was informed, "not only drugs are smuggled in the jails with impunity but latest smart phones are available on which some of the prisoners keep on updating their status."
He also told the court about the ways through which drugs were smuggled into jails and the steps to curb such a menace. Kant added, "Accountability (of jail officials) is the most effective deterrence" to check the drug menace in jails. There is hardly any de-addiction facility worth its name in any of Punjab's jails and out of at least 13 de-addiction centres being operated by the Punjab AIDS Control Society in the state, not even one is being run properly, he said.
Shashi Kant's suggestions
Case hearing through video-conferencing from jails
Upgradation of jail security on Tihar jail model
No outside stuff should be permitted in jails
All jails should have X-ray machines and trained dogs
Jail staff needs to be rotated often as a rule
Prisons should have frequency-jamming devices
De-addiction centres need to be opened in jails
Practice to post "unwanted doctors" in jails should be stopped
Kant also said that he has prepared a list with the names 185 jail officials involved in the narcotics trade. "I had sent a detailed report, on the basis of inputs from the intelligence agencies in the state and at the Centre, to the Punjab DGP a year ago before my retirement but till now, no action has been taken on the report which would have put many top political leaders and businessmen in the dock," the DGP said. He alleged that at least ten top politicians and social activists are involved in the drug racket but refused to name anyone.
Candidates holding feasts, besides offering money to voters, in villages where the fight is tough
In Buttar village of Faridkot, up to Rs 13 lakh reportedly offered for 15 votes of a politically non-aligned community
In Wandar Doad village, the prevailing vote rate is Rs 18,000 while it is an average Rs 5,000 in many other villages
Contesting sarpanch election means an expenditure of Rs 10 lakh to 50 lakh
Source https://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130701/punjab.htm#1
