Zero tolerance for drug trade in Maharashtra, says CM Eknath Shinde

CM Eknath Shinde. File Pic

The government has zero tolerance for drug trade in Maharashtra, CM Eknath Shinde said on Saturday, reported the PTI.

He said that drug trade in any form will not be tolerated in the state.

According to the PTI, the Opposition has targeted the state government over the rising use of narcotic drugs and other banned substances following the arrest of some persons for alleged drug consumption at a pub in Pune city in Maharashtra.

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CM Eknath Shinde was speaking 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 which lakhs of devotees of Lord Vitthal undertake.

"Any trade of drugs will not be tolerated in Maharashtra. The government is working on it, strict action will be taken against all those involved," the CM Shinde said, as per the PTI.

"I have given orders to remove 'paan' shops located near schools and colleges in the state. I have also asked police find the chain of peddlers or suppliers who are ruining the young generation. Officers who take a lax approach (while probing drug cases) will face suspension," he added, according to the PTI.

Pune bar case: 3 held, including man who supplied drug to accused

Meanwhile, three people, including a Nigerian national, have been reportedly arrested in connection with the alleged drug use in a bar on Fergusson Road in Pune.

The videos of the accused in the Pune bar case had gone viral recently, a police official said on Friday, reported PTI.

As per the news agency reports, the police probe began after a video showed two people, later identified as Nitin Thombre and Karan Mishra, allegedly with drugs inside the toilet of Liquid Leisure Lounge, popularly known as L3.

One of the three people supplied the drug, possibly mephedrone, that was allegedly used by the two accused Thombre and Mishra in L3, he said.

"The other two who have been held, including the Nigerian national, provided drugs to the third accused. We have recovered cocaine worth Rs 75,000 and mephedrone powder weighing 7 grams. The three were held under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and were produced in court today," Zone I Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandip Singh Gill said, reported PTI.

The number of persons arrested by police in connection with the Pune bar case in the L3 video stands at 13, while the excise department has reportedly apprehended six persons for liquor stock and other violations.

The bar was sealed after its license was suspended by the excise department, while civic authorities demolished its unauthorised parts and booked two owners under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act.