The government has zero tolerance towards drug trafficking in Maharashtra, CM Eknath Shinde said on Saturday, PTI reported.
He said drug trafficking in any form will not be tolerated in the state.
According to PTI, the opposition has attacked the state government over the increasing use of narcotics and other banned substances following the arrest of some people for alleged drug use in a pub in Pune city of Maharashtra.
CM Eknath Shinde spoke to reporters after attending the palkhi procession of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj at Dehu in the district. The procession is part of the annual waari or pilgrimage to Pandharpur undertaken by thousands of devotees of Lord Vitthal.
“No drug trafficking will be tolerated in Maharashtra. The government is working on it and strict action will be taken against all those involved,” CM Shinde was quoted as saying by PTI.
“I have given orders to remove ‘paan’ shops located near schools and colleges in the state. I have also asked the police to find the chain of hawkers or suppliers who are ruining the young generation. Officers who adopt a lax approach (while investigating) drug cases) will face suspension,” he added, according to PTI.
Pune bar case: 3 arrested, including man who supplied drugs to accused
Meanwhile, three people, including a Nigerian national, have reportedly been arrested in connection with alleged drug use at a bar on Fergusson Road in Pune.
Videos of the accused in the Pune bar case had gone viral recently, a police official said on Friday, PTI reported.
According to news agency reports, the police investigation began after a video showed two persons, later identified as Nitin Thombre and Karan Mishra, allegedly with drugs inside the washroom of Liquid Leisure Lounge, popularly known as L3.
One of the three persons supplied the drug, possibly mephedrone, which was allegedly consumed by the two accused Tmujer and Mishra in L3, he said.
“The other two arrested, including the Nigerian national, supplied drugs to the third accused. We have recovered cocaine worth Rs 75,000 and mephedrone powder weighing 7 grams. All three have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and were produced before the court today,” Zone I Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandip Singh Gill said, PTI reported.
The number of people arrested by the police in connection with the Pune bar case in the L3 video stands at 13, while the excise department has reportedly detained six people for stock of liquor and other violations.
The bar was sealed after the excise department suspended its licence, while civic authorities demolished its unauthorised portions and registered two owners under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act.
