HP police ropes in ace sprinter Milkha Singh for anti-drug drive

The Himachal police has roped in Milkha Singh, also known as the Flying Sikh, for its anti-drug drive, DGP Sita Ram Mardi said on Wednesday.

In a recently released video message, the Padma Shri awardee is seen appealing to the youth to stay away from drugs to remain fit all their life.

Such campaigns leave a remarkable impact on the minds of the youth, Mardi said, adding that a number of such videos will be released in future too.

The police has launched a zero-budget awareness campaign, the DGP said.

A number of Bollywood and sports celebrities have been roped in for the campaign without a single penny of the state exchequer being spent, he added.

The state police is handling the drug menace in three ways, Mardi told reporters here.

Firstly awareness is being spread among the youth against drugs, secondly inter-state coordination has been strengthened and thirdly solid steps have been taken to check the supply of drugs, he elaborated.

Mardi, accompanied by Sirmour Superintendent of Police Rohit Malpani, said the state police had directly interacted with over 2.5 lakh people during the last eight months as part of the anti-drug awareness campaign.

Remarkable progress has been made in strengthening cooperation to curb the drug menace with the three neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand, he said.

Increasing police cooperation and strengthening intelligence sharing had been discussed at high-level meetings between officers of the states, he said, adding that it was agreed to open a joint coordination office at Panchkula.

The senior police officer said the coordination had already started yielding good results.

The Himachal police has conducted a number of operations with the help of their counterparts in the neighbouring states and seized the highest ever quantity of drugs-contraband, including 325 kilograms of charas (a form of cannabis) within the past eight months, he said.

During this period, 1,150 drug smugglers and peddlers have been arrested, Mardi said, adding that only 650 people had been arrested in 2017 for such offences.