Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil directs officials to set up Anti-Drug Cell in districts

Dilip Walse Patil. File Pic

Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil has directed officials to set up 'Anti-Drug Cell' in each district under the chairmanship of the Superintendent of Police to curb the growing menace of narcotics substances, it was stated on Thursday.

He gave the direction while reviewing anti-narcotics actions in the state, especially in Mumbai, at a high-level meeting of the home department here, a statement said.

In recent times, the sale of narcotics substances has started in villages and their use has increased among schoolchildren and youth, it said.

The minister directed the police to be vigilant and curb the growing drug use in Maharashtra, the statement said.

The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Manukumar Srivastava, Additional Chief Secretary, Appeals and Security, Anand Limaye, Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey, Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagarale and Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Rajendra Singh, among others.

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Walse Patil said necessary measures should be taken in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to restrict the sale of drugs, the statement said.

Complaints are being made that drugs are being sold through online marketing, he said.

The minister directed the authorities concerned to set up committees to take joint action in such cases with help from the police, industry and the FDA.

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