DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

The Punjab government will deploy an anti-drone system by September or October to check the smuggling of narcotics and weapons through unmanned aerial vehicles from Pakistan, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Monday. Addressing reporters here, the DGP said the testing of the anti-drone system has been completed.

"We have conducted tests of the anti-drone system at the Indo-Pak border and our officers have also held meetings with the Ministry of Home Affairs in this regard. By September or October, Punjab will install the anti-drone system on the second line of defence, in coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF)," he said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state had said last month that it would take the help of anti-drone technology to check the smuggling of narcotics, arms and ammunition from across the border.

Yadav further said that 5,500 home guards will soon be recruited.

The state government had earlier announced that 5,500 home guards would be recruited as part of the efforts to strengthen the second line of defence at the international border. The DGP said the Punjab government is also examining a proposal to set up exclusive NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) courts in the state.

"We have requested the government to set up 30 exclusive NDPS courts. After taking concurrence of the high court, the government will spend Rs 22.8 crore annually on setting up these courts. The proposal is under active consideration," he said. Regarding the ongoing anti-drugs drive in the state, the DGP said since March 1, police have arrested 7,414 drug smugglers, including 1,877 "big fish", after registering 4,659 FIRs under the NDPS Act. Police have also seized 297 kg of heroin, 100 quintals of poppy husk, 153 kg of opium, 95 kg of ganja, 21.77 lakh tablets, capsules and pills and Rs 8.03 crore in cash from the possession of the arrested accused, he added.

As many as 1,774 drug smugglers were arrested from 755 identified drug hotspots during at least 908 targeted cordon-and-search operations, he said.

On recent seizures of explosives and ammunition, the officer lashed out at Pakistan, saying the neighbouring country is indulging in a proxy war.

"Pakistan is trying to bleed India by a thousand cuts and we have given a befitting reply to it. We have busted all the networks. If any incident took place, we traced it and made recoveries. We did not allow their evil designs to succeed," he said.

Asked if police have ascertained how many Pakistani nationals came to Punjab in the recent past, Yadav said around 235 such people came from across the border.

To a question on suspicious movements noticed in the state recently, he said such information was received from Pathankot district. "We are in touch with the Jammu and Kashmir Police for exchange of information and joint patrolling," the DGP said.

Police deployment has been strengthened in Pathankot, he added.

To a question on the safety of the Kashmiri students studying in Punjab in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed on April 22, the DGP said, "We have assured the Kashmiri students that complete security will be provided to them. SSPs and DIGs have held meetings with them in colleges."

If some students voluntarily want to go back, police are facilitating their travel, he added.

The Punjab Police has achieved significant success on the legal front by attaining an 89-per cent conviction rate in NDPS cases since March 1, which is among the highest in the country, Yadav said.

Since March 1, a total of 836 NDPS cases were decided across the state, of which, 744 resulted in convictions, the officer added.

"A total of 144 drug kingpins were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of 10 years or more, demonstrating the seriousness of law enforcement and judicial processes in drug-trafficking cases," he said. The DGP was accompanied by Special DGP, Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), Kuldeep Singh, ADGP, ANTF, Nilabh Kishore, and IGP, Headquarters, Sukhchain Singh Gill.

Yadav urged people to make the maximum use of the Safe Punjab Anti-Drugs Helpline -- 9779100200 -- to report about drug traffickers anonymously, adding that every tip received on the helpline is being monitored on a daily basis and the chief minister is personally reviewing the progress.

He said police have registered 503 FIRs and arrested 659 people acting on information received from the public on the helpline.

The DGP said the Punjab Police has formulated a three-pronged strategy -- dismantling "hawala" networks, freezing assets and bulldozing illegal constructions -- to break the financial backbone of drug smugglers.

(editor@dailyworld.in)