IT News
Imphal, Sept. 7:
Fifteen different civil society organizations of the state has submitted a draft proposal for the Manipur State Policy on Substance use 2019 to the Principal Secretary Social Welfare, Government of Manipur.
The draft proposal submitted by the 15 different CSOs including All Manipur Bar Association (AMBA), All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Apunba Manipur Kanba Ima Lup (AMKIL), Apunba Iramdam Maheiroi Sinpanglup (AIMS), Coalition Against Drugs and Alcohol (CADA) ,Community Network for Empowerment (CONE), Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) ,Eramdam Kanba Abunba Lup (EKAL), Extra-judicial Execution Victim Families Association, Manipur (EEVFAM), Human Rights Alert (HRA) ,League of Indigenous People’s Up-Liftment (LIPUL) , Loumi Sinmi Apun Lup (LOUSAL), Manipur Students’ Union of Kangleipak (SUK), Users’ Society for Effective Response (USER), Manipur Women Association for Socio-Economic Development (WASEDEV) is produced below:
1. The Manipur Government should frame clear rules under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substance Act (NDPS), 1985 in the form of Manipur Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substance Rules.
Rationale: Manipur is one of the worst affected states by drug trafficking in India. But the Manipur Government has not even framed clear rules under the NDPS. There is an urgent need to come up with clear rules to be followed for the law enforcement agencies while operating under NDPS Act. Many other lesser affected state/union territory, such as Sikkim, Chandigarh etc. have already framed their own Act and Rules. Instead of depending on ad hoc SOPs, it will go a long way in strengthening and streamlining the law enforcement agencies combating the menace of drugs in Manipur. The drafting of this rule should be done by due consultation with relevant stakeholders including police officers, legal experts, NGOs, CBOs etc.
2. The investigation of drug haul of large commercial quantity of drugs, worth more than one crore in the international market, especially those involving the politically influential person/entity of the state must be handed over to an independent agency which is immune to political pressure such as NCB, CBI or NIA and that the trial of such cases should be closely monitored by the High Court of Manipur.
Rationale: Most of the high profile drugs haul cases in Manipur involving politicians and high ranking military personnel remained unresolved till date. The latest controversy around the trial of Loukhosei Zou, involving armed groups from across the border, has considerably eroded the public faith in the criminal justice institutions. It is therefore extremely important to restore public faith in the Rule of Law and to ensure that justice is not only done, but also seen to be done. Prompt, impartial and thorough investigation and free, fair and speedy trial should be conducted.
3. To monitor the overall “supply reduction program” by constituting a Commission/Committee of various stakeholders including the Home Department, NCB, NGOs, CBOs, CSOs and individual experts, under article 2.8 of the present draft policy.
Rationale: Considering the complexity and magnitude of the problem, the issue of supply reduction cannot be seen only as a law and order problem to be dealt by law enforcement agencies alone. At the time of arrest the cooperation of civil society is sought by the law enforcement agencies, however once the investigation commenced the civil society is kept at dark on the progress.
