Respond to plea on drug addicts: HC to Delhi government

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Aam Aadmi Party-led government and others to file a response on a plea seeking formulation of proper schemes to provide medical treatment, nutrition, education and establishing rehabilitation centres for drug addicts in the national capital.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar issued notice to the Delhi government, the Director of Social Welfare Department and the Commissioner of Police and listed the matter for further hearing on August 29.

The plea filed by a social activist Salak Chand Jain through advocate J.K. Gupta has sought the court's direction on allotment of sufficient funds to rehabilitation centres and other NGOs working to improve the livelihood of drug addicts.

There is a lack of rehabilitation centres and there is no mechanism to admit the drug addicts in such centres and hospitals for treatment, the plea said.

The petitioner told the court that most of the drug addicts were "homeless, helpless and abandoned by their families".

He said the addicts were allegedly involved in petty thefts, burglaries and chain-snatching to buy drugs and that such actions created insecurity in residential areas.

The petitioner requested the court to issue a direction to form police patrol parties in different localities under the supervision of the concerned Station House Officer to nab the drug addicts. He requested that those addicts be admitted in hospitals and rehabilitation centres.

The plea cited National Crime Bureau data saying that Delhi is a transit point for drugs smuggling and large quantities of cocaine, heroin and opium were consumed in the national capital.

--IANS

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