India News | Punjab Police to Invoke Culpable Homicide in Drug Overdose Cases

Chandigarh, Sep 4 (PTI) A drug supplier will now be charged under culpable homicide in case the user dies of drug overdose, police here said on Monday.

Addressing the media here, Punjab Police Inspector General of Police (HQ) Sukhchain Singh Gill said every such death will be under scanner now.

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Any drug supplier responsible for the death of a person due to drug overdose will be booked under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, said Gill.

"A person has knowledge that his action can lead to death and in case of death overdose, it is assumed that a person, who has supplied drugs, knows that his act can lead to death of someone.

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"In every case of overdose death, we will investigate the role of suppliers and in case, it is established on a preliminary basis then the supplier can be booked under 304 of the IPC and we will ensure that he is punished," the officer said.

There have been several instances in Punjab of deaths due to drug overdose.

In its ongoing crackdown against the drug menace, police have seized properties worth Rs 30 crore belonging to suppliers of contraband under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, he said.

Gill said police will also take action against its personnel if big drug smugglers managed to get bail because of their failure to file a charge sheet in time.

He said police officers, including deputy superintendents of police, and SHOs have been served notices in connection with such lapses.

Director General of Police Guarav Yadav has issued strict instructions that there should not be any case of default bail of a drug smuggler, said Gill.

To completely eradicate the menace of drugs from the state as committed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Punjab Police has enforced a three-pronged strategy of enforcement, public contact, and demand reduction, Gill said.

He said under the enforcement part, commissioners and senior superintendents of police have been asked to launch all-out operations against street peddlers and suppliers in mohallas and villages.

As part of this strategy, addicts caught with a few grams of heroin or narcotic powder will be treated as victims and will be given chance to rehabilitate and shielded from prosecution, he added. A special focus is being given to pharmaceutical drugs.

"There will be district-specific or police station specific plans against drugs under which police teams will hold meetings in all villages and mohallas to sensitise people about the ill -effects of the drugs," he said while briefing about the public contact programme part.

Police will rope in school children, college students, and NGOs to spread word against drug use through workshops, seminars, runs, and cycle rallies, said Gill.

They will involve district administrations, health, education, and sports department to identify users and rehabilitate them with help of micro loans and skill-based activities.

Gill said police have seized 1,400 kg of heroin from across the state in the last 14 months.

In addition, 147.5 kg heroin was recovered by the teams of Punjab Police from seaports of Gujarat and Maharashtra, he said.

"Police recovered around 240 kg of heroin from across the state just in the month of August," Gill said.

The IGP said police have also recovered 871.82 kg of opium, 446.30 quintals of poppy husk, and 90.59 lakh tablets, capsules, injections and vials of pharma opioids from across the state.

They have seized Rs 13.96 crore in cash from the possession of 19,093 drug smugglers arrested since July 5, 2022, he said.

A total of 14,179 first information reports have been registered since then, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)