Rogue cops diluting efforts of honest colleagues
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: April 14, 2023 -

AS the government had already terminated service of five police commando personnel arrested with narcotic drugs on January 16 this year, there is no escape route for the two Village Defence Force personnel, who have been accused of aiding three drug peddlers evade arrest, albeit briefly, other than facing the same fate as their commando colleagues.

Compared to the five commandos, who were arrested while transporting huge consignment of psychotropic drugs, the VDF duo is accused of taking bribe money from the drug peddlers, thereby indicating that drug smugglers possess hard cash to entrap/entice men in uniform susceptible to corruption for getting their route cleared.

With the VDFs' salary nothing to cherish about, it is but natural that those lacking the commitment and resolve to end the drug scourge from the society would fall prey to the various deceptive tactics employed by drug dealers, not to mention about tarnishing the reputation of the entire police force.

Amid suspicion that the ever-in-creasing drug menace in the state could be due to presence of some corruptible elements within the police establishment, chief minister N Biren made the announcement to terminate the service of the drug dealer commandos during the Statehood Day celebration.

The decision to promptly end the service tenure of the five silenced the critics to some extent and there were expectation that such punitive action might deter other security personnel from involvement or abetment in drug smuggling.

However, the latest case of the two VDF men validates the demand from different quarters that all major cases of drug smuggling should be handed over to a central or independent agency for thorough investigation in order to identify and expose who is/are the mastermind or funders of the illegitimate but lucrative business.

With concerned civil societies demanding harshest form of penalties against whoever is found involved in drug peddling and poppy cultivation, dismissing personnel of security forces from service remains the lone option for the government to lessen the embarrassment cause at-least to some extent.

Nevertheless, the need for initiating impartial investigation into any major drug haul cases cannot be overlooked as those arrested with drugs are no more confined to natives of Manipur but from other states, thereby hinting at clandestine wide networks of drug smugglers.

It is high time for the government authorities to realise that the destruction caused to individuals and society due to exposure to psychotropic drugs has reached an irreversible stage, meriting effective mechanism to stop further proliferation of drugs, expose the drug lords and take toughest action possible as and when drug dealers are netted.

Instances of political figures either caught with drugs or suspected to be abetting proliferation of narcotic substances and police personnel suspended/terminated from service for involvement in drug peddling either released on bail or absolved from drug smuggling charges, are some prime reasons for civil societies demanding enactment of laws effective enough to deter drug trafficking and ensure stiffest penalties against the drug smugglers, be they petty peddlers or well-connected kingpins.

There is a reason why civil societies and student bodies are casting aspersions on the anti-drug campaigns as the state has faced many cases related to drugs but very few instances where drug kingpins have been punished, consequently rising posers on whether the government would be ever able to address the issue of drug menace in the state.