Agartala, Jul 29, 2023, TRIPURA TIMES Desk
Agartala, July 29: Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha on Saturday urged the judiciary to take strict view on bail matters in the cases under NDPS Act.
He said, drug trafficking and abuse have now become major social concern and the state government has already adopted zero tolerance policy against drugs.
The Chief Minister also stressed on the need for strengthening the fight against drugs in a collective manner. The judiciary also has a major role to play to end this drugs menace, he pointed out.
Dr. Saha was addressing the inaugural session of a seminar on "Cross Border Organized Crimes (NDPS, Human Trafficking & Terror Funding etc.)- Impact Assessment & Legal Solutions" organized by Tripura Judicial Academy under the aegis of the High Court of Tripura. The seminar was first of its kind in the state.
“The drug smugglers are using the international borders as their safe corridor for various reasons. Illicit drug trafficking and abuse is a serious concern since its poses significant health challenges besides ruining future generations. The use of synthetic drugs leading to HIV/AIDS has added a new dimension to the issue of drug abuse,” he said.
He continued, “Narcotic trade is also a great threat to the society, safety, and security of the country. It is one of the biggest sources of income for terrorist and anti-national elements. Such black money is used by the terrorist for procuring weapons to use in their terror activities.”
He said, the Tripura government already declared Zero Tolerance against drugs trafficking to make the state drugs-free.
“According to NCB, Tripura ranks among the highest state in India in the seizure and destruction of narcotics items. From 2022 June to 2023 June around 1509 cases of NDPS registered, 1143 charge sheets filed, 2131 arrested under NDPS cases while 331 cases are pending”, he said.
The Chief Minister further mentioned that the state saw a substantial rise in detaining Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals in 2023.
“Continuous efforts are being taken by the Tripura Police, BSF, and GRP to nab the illegal Bangladesh nationals and Rohingyas. A Special investigation team has been formed to find links of human trafficking as illegal Bangladesh nationals and Rohingya travel to other states through Tripura. However the problem of human trafficking is not alarming in our state”, he said.
In the seminar delegates from Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, West Bengal and Tripura took part.
In the augural session, Chief Justice of the High Court of Tripura Aparesh Kumar Singh delivered the welcome speech.
Supreme Court Judge Justice Sanjay Karol spoke on the issue of narcotics and thanked the State Government for launching Nesha Mukt Tripura Abhiyan which engaged concerned stakeholders as well as people, especially youths. He also talked about organic and synthetic drugs and the illness if one gets addicted to it.
In his speech, another Supreme Court Judge, Justice Aniruddha Bose focused on the issue of the border and drug menace.
Judge of the High Court of Tripura, Justice Arindam Lodh delivered the Vote of Thanks and mentioned the role of chemical companies in drug manufacturing.
Following the inaugural session, three technical sessions were held and eminent personalities of the judiciary system, Indian Army, BSF, Tripura Police and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) deliberated on topics.
The technical session started with “Offences under NDPS Act – Impact Assessment & Legal Solutions. Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Justice Bishanath Sommaddar chaired the session and delivered in details on the topic which was followed by a discussion on synthetic drugs by Judge of Calcutta High Court Justice Jay Sengupta who co-chaired the session. He talked about designing comprehensive software for storing data on drug-related issues. In his speech, Zonal Director of the NCB, Guwahati Sudhansu Kumar Singh came up with an informative powerpoint presentation on the NDPS in the country vis-a-vis Northeast and Tripura.
District and Sessions Judge, West Bengal Sudipta Dey shared his experience relating to the topic.
The session-2, speakers delivered on ‘Changing Facets of Human Trafficking: role of Enforcement Agencies in Curbing its menace’. Judge of the Patna High Court Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh chaired the session. Justice Singh talked about human trafficking and organ transplantation which is made by sale. Judge of Gauhati High Court co-chaired the session and elaborated on the human trafficking issue.
Chairman of the Commercial Taxes Tribunal, Jharkhand Manoj Prasad shared his experience relating to the issue and informed the audience about new issues coming out in the field of human trafficking and organ transplant for money.
In the third and final session, speakers were involved in an engrossing discussion on ‘A challenge for bordering States vis-a-vis international approach for its control and combat.
Judge of Jharkhand High Court Justice Dr Shiva Nand Pathak chaired the session and Justice T Amarnath Goud, the Judge of High Court of Tripura co-chaired the session.
DGP of Tripura Amitabha Ranjan presented elaborated information on the issue in relation to the perspective of the International, national and Northeast regions. In his speech, Brigadier, Indian Army Vikram Guleria also talked about drug trading for funding terror, especially insurgency in the Northeastern region. The discussion was carried forward by DIG Mathews. Special Judge NDPS, Manipur Alek Muivah shared some unique experiences highlighting terror activities.