State Narcotics Control Bureau faces curbs on registering Abkari cases
Kerala's new narcotics squad stopped registering excise cases due to order ambiguities, causing a decline in local cases. Officials expect a clarifying notification soon to resume normal operations alongside new uniform supplies.
Kerala's new narcotics squad stopped registering excise cases due to order ambiguities, causing a decline in local cases. Officials expect a clarifying notification soon to resume normal operations alongside new uniform supplies.
Kerala's new narcotics squad stopped registering excise cases due to order ambiguities, causing a decline in local cases. Officials expect a clarifying notification soon to resume normal operations alongside new uniform supplies.
Kottayam: The newly formed State Narcotics Control Bureau squad in Kerala has been instructed not to register Abkari cases after the district excise department’s Anti-Narcotics Special Squad merged with the state-level bureau.
The squad members were reportedly told not to handle the cases after they joined the new bureau. The directive has affected the squad’s operations, leading to a decline in the number of Abkari cases registered in the district.
Senior excise officials, however, said the restriction stemmed from a lack of technical clarity in the order issued under the Abkari Act. A fresh notification is expected within a few days, after which the squad will be able to register excise cases as well.
The Excise Commissionerate had also announced that the squad members would be provided with new uniforms to replace their existing khaki attire. However, the uniforms have not yet reached the district, with only officials at the Excise Commissionerate having received them. The District Excise Office has said the new uniforms will be supplied to the district soon.
Fall in Abkari cases
The number of Abkari cases registered in Kottayam district has declined since the special squad ceased operating under its previous arrangement. In September, the squad had ranked second in the state in terms of the number of excise and NDPS cases registered.
During the month, the squad registered 26 NDPS cases and four excise cases, seizing 127 litres of spirit. It also conducted inspections targeting illegal liquor sales and bars operating before their permitted opening hours.
First spirit seizure from a toddy shop
In a first for the district, excise spirit was seized from a toddy shop following confidential information received by the squad. The seizure was carried out under the squad’s leadership.
Earlier, Preventive Officers were also authorised to register cases. Under the new system, however, only Inspectors can register cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The squad had also maintained a mechanism through which members of the public could share confidential information about suspected narcotics and excise violations.