Students urged to support police in curbing the sale and consumption of drugs

A large number of students participate in the ‘Operation RISE’ programme at the Father Muller Convention Centre in Mangaluru on Thursday.
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H.S. MANJUNATH

Expressing concern that a small number of drug peddlers continue to operate in Dakshina Kannada, Mangaluru City Commissioner of Police Sudheer Kumar Reddy called upon students to support the police in curbing the sale and consumption of drugs across the region.

Speaking at a programme on the State police’s ‘Operation RISE’ and ‘Beda Bro’, Mr. Reddy said that despite the arrest of several drug peddlers across the district over the last two years, a few continue to operate. “As long as there is demand for drugs among students, it is difficult for the police to completely curb their supply and consumption. Operation RISE is focused on students. They have to resist the urge to use narcotic drugs,” he said. Mr. Reddy asked students to scan the QR codes on anti-drug posters or call 112 to provide anonymous information about drug peddlers and consumers. The police will provide necessary support to drug addicts to help them come out of addiction.

Substantiating the power of the police to randomly check students for drug consumption, Mr. Reddy said the police are empowered to carry out drug tests under Section 168 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and prevent cognisable offences. Anybody found guilty of giving drugs to a juvenile will be punished with imprisonment of seven years. Those found guilty of peddling drugs to a juvenile will be sentenced to imprisonment for a period that may extend to life.

With the support of students, the police can make a few educational campuses free of drugs in the next six months. In another two years, all campuses in the region would be free from narcotic drugs, Mr. Reddy said.

Lauding the continued action of the police against drugs in Dakshina Kannada, Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader said the State government was contemplating stringent punishment for drug peddling. He called upon the police to work with their counterparts in Kerala to effectively curb the sale of drugs in the region.

Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath said institutions in the region should support the police by bearing the expenses of multi-drug tests carried out by the police. Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner Rahul Ratnam Pandey also spoke.

Students of the School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, staged a skit on drug de-addiction.