Superintendent of Police G.K. Mithun Kumar has said the district police has zero tolerance for drug trafficking and consumption of drugs in Shivamogga district.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Mr. Kumar said the proactive measures taken by the police resulted in the increase in cases related to drug peddling and consumption.
Recently, the issue of drug trafficking and ganja consumption was discussed in a meeting chaired by Minister for School Education Madhu Bangarappa, who is also Minister in charge of Shivamogga.
Besides, the Karnataka State Women’s Commission Chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary also expressed serious concern on the issue during her visit to the district.
Sharing details of the cases registered in the district, Mr. Kumar said that the police have booked 420 cases for ganja consumption in 2025. Of them, 289 were in Shivamogga city alone.
“The cases registered this year are the highest compared to the last two years. Going by the statistics, there are chances to infer that ganja consumption has increased. But the cases increased because of the proactive steps of the police. We have increased the number of tests. Whenever we find people violating traffic rules, engaging in minor clashes, or exhibiting suspicious behaviour, we subject such people to consumption tests. This year alone, we have conducted 4,209 tests, and of them, 420 people tested positive. Among them, 289 were reported in Shivamogga city,” Mr. Kumar said.
The Superintendent of Police said that his staff had been conducting exercises in respective police station limits, including foot patrolling and questioning people who gather in public places. “If we find anybody’s conduct suspicious, such people are taken into our custody for further examination,” he said.
Drones
Mr. Kumar stated that drone cameras were being used to keep an eye on illegal activities on the city outskirts. The cameras would help capture images of the accused. “Later, we them pick up for interrogation. If they were found to be consuming ganja, we would initiate further probe,” the officer said.
The police booked 35 cases against 80 peddlers this year. “We have sent our teams to Bengaluru, Andhra Pradesh and other places, from where the accused allegedly brought ganja and other drugs,” he said.
The government had formed task forces at all stations to curb drug trafficking. The additional Superintendent of Police, S. Ramesh Kumar, would be the district nodal officer for cases related to drugs. He would be monitoring the cases and following up on the investigation on a regular basis. The officials would also coordinate with officers of other departments for joint action against drug abuse and ganja consumption.
Mr. Kumar said that the government had launched Sanmithra. Under this programme, every drug consumer and peddler would be attached with a police staff member. The staff would keep a tab on the movements of the peddler or consumer to check if such person was encouraging others to pick up the habit or supplying drugs to others.
“Through this exercise, we are hopeful of preventing the drug trafficking and consumption. The staff member will be in touch with the person until he or she was free from addiction,” he added.
Published – December 02, 2025 07:58 pm IST
