Death penalty won’t solve Punjab’s drug crisis

Focus on improving law and order and strengthening de-addiction centres

On Monday, the Punjab cabinet decided to recommend death penalty for drug peddlers in the state. The Congress government has suggested that the Centre amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) so that those dealing in drugs are given the death sentence in the first instance of their conviction, and not in the second, as the law stands now. Observers say the government was under pressure to deliver on its election promise of tackling the drug menace in Punjab. It is not that there has been no action. Since chief minister Amarinder Singh took over, the government has been cracking down on offenders, with 18,800 arrests made between March 16, 2017, and June 24, 2018, and 377 kg of heroine seized in the same period, according to Punjab Police statistics. Still, the number of victims of drug-related crime is on the rise.

In the past two months, the state saw as many as 30 deaths from drug overdoses. The ‘Punjab Opioid Dependence Survey’ released by the state government in 2016 revealed there were 2.3 lakh opioiddependent people in Punjab, of whom 76% were between 18 and 35 years old. Significantly, the report highlighted a gap in the availability of treatment services for drug-dependent individuals. While 80% of these tried to give up, only about 35% got any help.this is where the government’s focus needs to be sharpened.

The death penalty has been abolished in most progressive societies. Over the years, the state’s efficacy in dealing with drug dealers has been increasing. The conviction rate of those booked under the NDPS in Punjab has grown from 21.5% in 2001 to 81.1% in 2016. So, the call for death penalty for drug peddlers may have been triggered by electoral compulsions. What the government should focus on instead is strengthen the network of de-addiction centres, raise awareness about the hazards of drug use and tighten law and order in the state, since drug peddlers seldom flourish without the police’s collusion.