Close on the heels of Punjab, the otherwise peaceful state, low in crime, well known as ‘DevBhoomi’, Himachal Pradesh has the third highest rate of cases in the country under Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
A fact which the state residents will not be proud of, it has been revealed in the recently released National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) 2016, which has witnessed a jump over the previous year, when it had ranked sixth in the country.
Amongst all the 29 states and 7 Union Territories in the country, HP is in the third spot, with the total number of incidents per lakh population accounting for 13.1, with a total of 929 cases reported in the cognizable crimes under Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes in NDPS Act 1985.
The average rate of the country stood at 3.9. Punjab like the previous year, is ahead of all the states and UT’s, at a rate of 20.2 with 5,906 cases, followed by Kerela 16.6 with 5,924 cases.
After HP, Maharashtra (12.1), Mizoram (9.8), Arunachal Pradesh (8.8) and Chandigarh at seventh position, at rate of 8.0.
Meanwhile, Director General of Police (DGP) SomeshGoyal attributed the increase in the number of registered cases to the marked improvement in detecting and tackling the anti-social elements involved in such activities.
“The rise in cases is an indication of the pro-active role of the police to combat the drug menace by increasing vigil and zeroing in on those involved in NDPS cases,” he said.
HP police was on alert to tackle the menace with special teams having been formed to prevent inter-state border smuggling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, he added.