Drug smugglers out on bail in Punjab set to be tracked through GPS-enabled anklets
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab police are planning to introduce GPS-enabled anklets for drug smugglers out on bail to track their movements, taking a cue from their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir where Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) accused are monitored with these devices.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said here on Saturday, "In Jammu and Kashmir, GPS tracking anklets were started for UAPA accused who are bailed out. We are examining the proposal from a legal point of view. When an accused is released on bail, there are some conditions. After taking orders from competent courts, GPS anklets will be put on notorious smugglers out on bail to track their movements."
He said it will be done on a case-by-case basis and the right to privacy will be kept in mind.
Yadav said the police would also focus on drug users who have been released on bail. "We have devised a system of monitoring their activities by taking village elders and panchayats into confidence. Our objective is to integrate them into the mainstream. They (drug users) will be motivated to go to OAAT (Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment) clinics and drug de-addiction centres," he said.
The station house officers will call such people to police stations, and a self-declaration will be taken from them that they will neither consume drugs nor peddle them, he said. However, he said police will take action against repeat offenders.
Yadav said artificial intelligence software will be developed to upload information regarding arrested drug smugglers in districts into centralised data for forward and backwards linkages.
He further said de-addiction centres will be started in jails for drug users who are put behind bars.
Replying to a question on deploying an anti-drone system to check smuggling of drugs and weapons, Yadav said the order for the system has been placed and it is expected to be delivered by August.
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