Is fight against drug menace working, questions SC judge
CONCERN A day after yoga guru Ramdev claimed 80% of Punjab’s youth are hooked to drugs, members of judiciary claim police efforts not effective enough
BATHINDA: A day after yoga guru Ramdev’s claim that the 80% of Punjab’s youth were hooked to drugs, a supreme court judge has also expressed concern over the issue and questioned if the state government’s fight against the menace was yielding results.
Addressing a gathering during the launch of a ‘Quit Drugs Movement’ function by the Asia Pacific Jurist Association (APJA) Punjab and Haryana chapter at Shri Sanatan Dharam Girls College on Saturday, justice AK Sikri said, “All stakeholders are working to check the menace, but instead of showing any sign of ebbing, the problem is getting aggravated. There is a difference between what is happening, what we are saying and what the ground reality is?”.
Drawing a parallel between the freedom struggle and the ‘Quit Drugs Movement’, he added that getting people free from slavery of the drugs was the mission before the country.
“I have been informed that 60%-70% persons locked in jails are into drug peddling. The police are nabbing the peddlers and courts are also convicting the accused,” he said. Justice Sikri, along with other judges and children, also took part in the procession in the city.
Meanwhile, Justice Vijender Jain (retired), former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court, and chairperson Human Rights Commission Haryana and Uttrakhand, said, “Unemployment, lack of sports infrastructure and avenues to channelise youth’s energy pushed them to drugs.”
I have been informed that 60%-70% persons locked in jails are into drug peddling. The police are nabbing the peddlers and courts convict the accused. Still the problem persists. We need to question why these efforts are not working.
JUSTICE AK SIKRI, SC judge