AIADMK urges CM to allow police to act 'independently' against drug trade

Chennai, Aug 13

AIADMK's interim General Secretary K. Palaniswami on Saturday called for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin to allow the state police to function independently to curb drug proliferation in the state.

In a statement on Saturday, the former Chief Minister said that he had raised the issue of increasing drug menace in the state on several occasions but Stalin had ignored it and "had given silly excuses".

"I had raised two questions in the Assembly. How many charge sheets had been filed of the 7,000 drug cases involving 9,500 accused in the court, and why only 150 people were arrested in cases of drugs being sold near schools and colleges despite filing 2,150 cases? But no answers had been forthcoming.

"Every day we see the news that drugs have been seized and drug peddlers arrested. Does the Chief Minister not know the persons responsible for the proliferation of drugs? Is the Chief Minister accepting that he is unable to control the availability of drugs?" he asked.

Stalin, in a high-level meeting with Chief Secretary and senior police officers, asked for a crackdown on the drug menace in the state amid opposition's allegations that the state government was not keen to act on the issue.