Punjab Police plans GPS-enabled anklets for drug smugglers out on bail

    Chandigarh, May 31 (PTI) The Punjab Police is planning to introduce GPS-enabled anklets for big drug smugglers out on bail to track their movements, the state's top cop said on Saturday.
    Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav cited the example of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which uses the wearable device for UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) accused to monitor them.
    Addressing the media here, Yadav said, "In J&K, GPS tracking anklets were started for UAPA persons who are bailed out. We are examining the proposal from a legal point of view."
    When an accused is released on bail, there are some conditions, Yadav said, adding that after taking orders from competent courts, GPS anklets will be put on notorious smugglers out on bail to track their movements.
    Yadav said it will be done on a case-by-case basis, and the right to privacy will be kept in mind.
    The DGP asserted that small-time drug users should not be targeted and instead be sent to drug de-addiction centres.
    He said the police would also focus on such drug users who have been released on bail.
    "We have devised a system of monitoring their activities by taking village elders and panchayats into confidence. Our objective is to integrate these into the mainstream. They (drug users) will be motivated to go to OAAT (Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment) clinics and drug de-addiction centres," he said.
    The station house officers (SHOs) will call such people to police stations, and a self-declaration will be taken from them that they will neither consume drugs nor peddle them, said the DGP.
    Additionally, the SHOs will offer medical assistance to those in need, he said, adding that strict action will be taken against repeat offenders.
    The DGP said an artificial intelligence software will be developed to upload information regarding arrested drug smugglers in the districts for forward and backwards linkages.
    Yadav asserted Punjab was the first in the country to devise a software -- Punjab Artificial Intelligence System (PAIS) -- in 2019.
    Replying to a question on deploying an anti-drone system to check smuggling of drugs and weapons, Yadav said an order has been placed and the drones are expected to be delivered in July and August.
    He said the Punjab government has approved a Rs 500 crore package for the upgradation and modernisation of its prisons, under which every jail will have a de-addiction centre.
    Yadav further said intelligence reports and informal surveys indicate a disruption in the supply chain of drugs, resulting in a 50 per cent increase in street-level heroin prices and a 40 per cent increase in street-level prices of synthetic drugs as a result of strict enforcement.
    Repeated, targeted, and effective operations have forced notorious drug smugglers to abandon their houses and flee, disrupting local networks and diminishing their operational capacity, he said.
    Yadav said Punjab Police has adopted a compassionate approach and prioritised the treatment of drug addicts as patients rather than criminals. He highlighted that 1,121 individuals caught with small quantities of drugs were sent for de-addiction and rehabilitation under section 64-A of the NDPS Act.
    In addition, police teams have also taken 5,786 drug users to de-addiction centres for treatment, while 6,483 drug users were convinced by the police to take treatment from OOAT centres, he added.
    About prevention strategies, the DGP said village panchayats are being requested to hold meetings and assess the drug situation in their village to independently find out if their village is drug-free or not.
    "If a village is free of drugs, its panchayat would be requested to declare it 'Nasha Mukt' (drug-free), and if not, panchayats are requested to assess the present status and devise a strategy to make their village drug-free," he said.
    The DGP said a fresh list of drug peddlers and suppliers is being prepared with inputs from districts, intelligence and the anti-narcotics task force for action against drug traffickers in the next 60 days.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)