MUMBAI: NCP spokesperson and state cabinet minister, Nawab Malik, on Sunday asked the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to target drug traffickers instead of seeking publicity by arresting drug consumers for possession of very small quantities of ganja.
"My attention has been drawn to the arrest of comedian Bharti Singh and her husband, Haarsh. In my opinion, since they have admitted to possession of a small quantity of cannabis, the NCB must send them to a rehabilitation centre instead of jail," Malik said.
He added that in the recent past, the NCB had been targeting people from the film industry and gathering publicity, and wondered whether this way, the central agency was protecting the drug traffickers.
NCB must take help of state agencies to halt drug trade: NCP
Malik said: “Certainly, consumption of drugs is bad, but all-out efforts should be made to persuade consumers to give up drugs. We feel that they should be lodged in a good rehabilitation centre.”
Malik said it was high time the NCB took on big drug traffickers. “The NCB’s duty is to target big sharks in the drug industry, but so far no visible action has been taken. The NCB must arrive at the source of the drug and investigate who are the drug peddlers, who are supplying drugs to innocent people,’’ the NCP spokesperson said.
He asked the NCB to introspect. “If we trace the history of the NCB, it will be found that by and large it has been concentrating on such people who will give massive publicity to the organisation. It was set up for arriving at the source of drugs, but it appears that it is concentrating on only the film stars. It must unearth drug stocks across the metropolis instead of indulging in a publicity stunt,’’ he said.
Malik said that after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, the NCB had swung into action, but only against small players. “The NCB must take the help of state law enforcing agencies and central agencies and ensure that the entire drug trade comes to a complete halt,” he said.