Amarinder orders probe in drugs-related deaths in Punjab
Chandigarh, July 3: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered investigation into the recent spate of drug-related deaths in the state and directed that stringent action be taken against those found guilty, without considering their political affiliations.
Nearly 35 deaths have been reported in the state in the past one month itself due to drugs abuse and drugs overdose.
The probe was ordered after some social activists met the Chief Minister on Tuesday to highlight the rampant drugs abuse in the state.
Leaders of the main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also met him in this regard here.
The probe order came just a day after the Punjab cabinet on Monday resolved to recommend, to the to the Union Government, death penalty for drug smugglers and peddlers.
Describing drug abuse as a disease requiring treatment, the Chief Minister stressed on the need for rehabilitation of the victims and for making the anti-drug campaign a people's movement.
Amarinder Singh, who had in 2016 taken a religious vow to wipe out drugs from Punjab within four weeks of coming to power has not been able to deliver on the promise through the government that he heads in Punjab since March 2017.
The opposition AAP and Shiromani Akali Dal have criticized the Congress government for failing to fulfill its promise on curbing drugs abuse in Punjab.
Drugs abuse is rampant, particularly among youth and rural population, in Punjab for the past over two decades.
The drugs racket has its nexus with powerful politicians and police officials.
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Lokayukta sleuths raid eight govt officers in disproportionate assets case
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Lokayukta sleuths on Tuesday conducted simultaneous raids on eight government officers across the state in connection with alleged disproportionate assets cases, officials said.
According to Lokayukta sources, the raids were carried out in the morning at the residences and offices of at least eight officials serving in different departments and districts, including Kodagu, Bidar and Mysuru.
Among those searched is I K Puttaswamy, an Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) posted at Harangi Dam sub-division in Kodagu district.
In Bidar, searches were conducted against Suresh K L, retired Finance Controller at the Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Nandinagar.
Officials said Shivanna, Deputy Director in the Fisheries Department in Ballari, was also covered under the operation.
In Mysuru, premises linked to Kiran Kumar, Assistant Engineer in the Public Works Department, were searched.
In Chitradurga, raids were conducted against Susheelamma, a retired accounts assistant, while in Mangaluru, Babu B N, serving as an Assistant Drug Controller, was among those targeted.
Similarly, in Shivamogga, Shobha K R, District Officer at the Backward Classes Welfare Department and Ajay Singh, Assistant Executive Engineer in the District Urban Development Cell, were also subjected to searches.
"A coordinated operation was launched this morning against multiple officials suspected to have amassed assets disproportionate to their known sources of income," a Lokayukta official said.
"The searches are being carried out at several locations simultaneously and are still in progress," the official added.
