To back BSF, Punjab will install anti-drone system by November: DGP Gaurav Yadav

CHANDIGARH: As part of forming a second line of defence on the border with Pakistan, Punjab govt is all set to install an anti-drone system by Sept or Oct this year, said director general of police Gaurav Yadav on Monday.
Addressing a press conference on the state's war against drugs, the DGP said they had tested the anti-drone system. "Our officers held a meeting with MHA (Union ministry of home affairs), Delhi, and very soon, Punjab will be installing the system in coordination with the BSF."
day after the DGP The DGP said a target was fixed to make Punjab drug-free "in the sense that the availability of drugs on the street is brought to zero". For the same, he said, "Senior superintendents of police and commissioners of police have been directed to plan and execute whatever necessary measures are to be taken and fix a target date at their own level, but not later than May," he said.
He added, "The objective is to cut all supply lines before 31 May and by which their area would be completely drug-free." The DGP said, "This war against drugs is not about numbers. We are not giving any targets. The focus is on qualitatively bringing down the availability of drugs on streets."
Asserting that rigorous field assessment using intelligence and other resources would be carried out to determine the actual ground reality after May 31, the DGP said good work would fetch rewards to the officers and "where performance is not up to mark, accountability and responsibility would be fixed." He said, "Heroin users would be brought under the de-addiction and rehabilitation umbrella."
The DGP said due to meticulous investigation, Punjab achieved around a 90% conviction rate in drugs cases since March this year. "Out of 836 decided cases, there are 744 convictions and in 144 of them more than 10-year imprisonment was awarded," he added.
The DGP said on the request of police, the state govt was actively examining a proposal to set up 30 exclusive courts for the NDPS Act cases after taking concurrence from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
These courts, he said, could entail an annual expense of Rs 22.8 crore. The DGP said that Punjab Police has formed a three-pronged strategy—dismantling hawala networks, freezing assets, and bulldozing illegal constructions—to break the financial backbone of drug smuggling.
‘Transfer of Prisoners (Punjab Amendment) Act notified'
The DGP said while there was a PIT NDPS Act in place for the preventive detention of big smugglers, the Punjab govt also recently notified the Transfer of Prisoners (Punjab Amendment) Act after a bill was passed by the state assembly and govt got the presidential assent to enact it. The DGP added, "We will also examine in consultation with other states which such accused are there who could be put outside Punjab jails even during trial so that it can be a deterrent."
‘Distinguishing between user and seller'
During the press conference, the DGP said that the Punjab govt was dealing with drug users compassionately, and 689 persons caught with a small quantity of drugs were sent to de-addiction centres for treatment instead of jail using the provision under Section 64-A of the NDPS Act. Asked about a man being held in a drugs case after "a transparent polythene bag having traces of poppy husk" under Lambi police station in Muktsar district, the DGP said, "We are getting all those facts checked from the SSP. The police have to distinguish between user and peddler. Some users also sell the drugs."