State amendment to NDPS Act to fix loopholes: Fadnavis

Over the past few days, Opposition leaders, including the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, have raised the issue of widespread drug use across the state. The capital city of Mumbai is considered to be a hub of narcotics demand. In the past few years, the NCB has registered two major cases – the Cordelia drug bust case and the Sushant Singh Rajput case – which are connected to Mumbai. Both the NCB and the Anti Narcotics Cell of the Mumbai Police have been involved in several drug busts  lately.

While replying during the debate on the last day of the Council, Fadnavis said the issue of drugs in the state is serious and there is a need for strict action as their use is rampant in elite class parties.

Pointing out a loophole in the NDPS Act, Fadnavis said, “There are two types of criminal cases which fall under the NDPS act – consumption and commercial. One must be possessing a commercial quantity or have consumed drugs for it to become a crime under the NDPS Act.  Peddlers are skirting around this by neither keeping drugs in their possession nor delivering it,  asking customers to pick it from a place instead. Even if they get caught, they are never in possession of drugs nor have they consumed it so they evade law even if they are caught.”

“Hence, to stop peddlers from misusing the loophole in the Act, we are taking a decision to bring a state amendment in the NDPS Act which would include not only consumption and commercial quantity as crime but also any kind of help or abetment in serious offence category,” he said.

Fadnavis announced 6,000 more CCTV cameras will be installed in the city which would help police in traffic management and detection in criminal cases.   Taking pot shots at Opposition for pointing out law and order issues in state, Fadnavis said, “While listening to them, I felt like I was the Home minister of Maharashtra for the last 2.5 years too.”