Book drug convicts for money laundering, HC tells Haryana

Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 12

In a judgment that will change the way drug peddlers are dealt with, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to book within three months all drug trafficking convicts in Haryana for money laundering.

Virtually rebuking the state for not doing enough, the Bench took upon itself the task of guiding the police by issuing 25 “mandatory” directions for eradicating the menace, including directions to the DGP to revamp, restructure and strengthen the Special Task Force and deployment of cops in mufti from 8 am to 6 pm around all educational institutions. “It is intriguing to note that students are getting prohibited drugs, but the police are not in a position to catch hold of kingpins and peddlers,” the Bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu observed, directing Haryana Principal Secretary (Home) to issue directions to all investigating officers to register cases under the NDPS Act against those directly or indirectly involved in financing any of the activities specified under the Act or harbouring anyone engaged in any such activity. 

Justice Sharma, on behalf of the Bench, gave the state six months to establish rehabilitation centres in each district for providing basic necessities to inmates, including board and lodging and counselling.

All educational institutions, including government, aided and private schools, were directed to appoint the senior-most teacher as nodal officer to counsel students every Friday.

MANDATORY DIRECTIONS...

• Govt to provide latest kits to probe officers and hold refreshers course periodically for cops
• To obviate bias, police to be told that complainant could not be probe officer too
• Drug inspector raiding industries, shops to be accompanied by officer not below ACP rank
• ACP to monitor all cases under Opium and the NDPS Act to plug loopholes
• Executive magistrates, gazetted officers to be informed about duties under NDPS Act
• Police to ensure minors not served drugs, alcoholic beverages at shops, bars, restaurants
• State to ensure special, mobile, anti-peddling police squads and to sensitise prison staff
• Jails to have sniffer dogs to check visitors/packages
• All prisoners to be tested for addiction