Drug peddlers more dangerous than Maoists, says DGP CV Anand

Director General of Police CV Anand said drug peddlers pose a greater threat than Maoists and called for stringent action against ganja traffickers. He also announced plans for a Traffic Management Bureau and reviewed law and order with police officials in Khammam

Khammam: Describing drug peddlers as more dangerous than Maoists, Director General of Police CV Anand stated that the decline of Naxalite activity had led to an increase in ganja cultivation and smuggling.

Drug peddlers were infiltrating every household and posed a grave danger to the future. The Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) force should act decisively and come down with an iron hand on cannabis peddlers to curb the trade, he suggested.

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The DGP held a review meeting with senior police officials here on Tuesday. During an interaction with the media later, he noted that Maoists were opposed to cannabis cultivation in forests and punished those involved in it.

The EAGLE force and the district police must work in coordination to tackle the ganja menace. Measures such as seizing the assets of those involved in ganja cultivation and trafficking, and invoking the PD Act against them, have to be taken to curb the menace, Anand noted.

The DGP stated that one should not assume Maoism was a thing of the past. Although Maoist activity has declined, it has not been entirely eliminated, and surveillance of the movements of surrendered Naxalites must be maintained for another year or two.

The Greyhounds force was not completely disbanded. Of the 1,100 personnel, only 500 were transferred to another unit, while the remaining 600 continued to serve in the force and were being retained to monitor the rehabilitation of Naxalites who had rejoined the mainstream.

A ‘Traffic Management Bureau’, modelled after the EAGLE force, would be established to ensure road safety in the State, the DGP said.

Anand lauded the Khammam police for being at the forefront of solving cybercrimes and treating them with the utmost seriousness. He advised the district police to maintain surveillance on social media, improve the conviction rate and carry out surprise inspections.

Referring to the murder case of CPI (M) leader Samineni Rama Rao, the DGP said he had ordered the formation of a special team to nab the accused and hoped it would make progress within a month.

IGP Chandrasekhar Reddy, Commissioner of Police Sunil Dutt, EAGLE force SP Giridhar and others were present.