The Punjab government on Sunday launched a drug screening drive in jails for diagnosing drug abuse among inmates, according to an official statement issued here.
As a pilot project, the drive was conducted at the Roopnagar prison where all the 950 inmates were screened.
Jails Minister Harjot Singh Bains said this statewide drug screening project aims to make prisons free from illegal drugs, besides providing options to inmates who have already fallen prey to drugs, to undergo de-addiction treatment and get rehabilitated.
“It was for the first time such an extensive drive had been taken up to cover the entire inmate population of a prison for drug screening on a single day,” said Bains, while adding that the process would be undertaken across all prisons in the state.
The screening at the Roopnagar jail was conducted in the presence of special DGP (Prisons) Harpreet Singh Sidhu, Inspector General (Prisons) Roop Kumar and Deputy IG Surinder Singh, and Superintendent Jail Kulwant Singh.
Some of the officers from various other prisons across the state also participated for the first-hand experience in taking up this drive in their respective prisons.
The final results of the screening drive will be available within a day after which further action would be initiated, it said.
The minister said this is another effort by the state government to bring reforms in the state prisons.
“This project will help in identifying those inmates with substance use disorders and are not yet undergoing treatment at de-addiction facilities established within the prison system,” he said.
“With a view to making these persons undergo de-addiction treatment, FIRs will also be lodged in case any such person is found consuming illegal narcotics,” said the minister.
The minister said the jails department further aims to involve experts in improving de-addiction treatment, peer support and counselling facilities for inmates in jails.
Police will be requested to conduct thorough investigations into all cases registered under this drive to plug any loopholes in the prison system regarding illegal drug supply, he added.
Source: PTI
Photo: Internet
