KCR Gives Free Hand To Cops To Crush Drug Menace

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has taken a serious view of the magnitude of the drug mafia's operation that has triggered panic among the citizens, and asked the authorities to root out the menace with an iron hand and not spare anyone, however big or influential they may be.

The Chief Minister called the Director of Excise Enforcement Akun Sabharwal, IAS, on the phone this morning and gave him a free hand in dealing with the dreaded menace.

He directed him to take all the necessary measures to bring to book all those involved, and assured full support and cooperation in this regard.

He also wanted that the names of all those involved in the racket be revealed.

KCR also advised Sabharwal, who is heading the investigation, to cancel his leave as it was imperative for him to be at the helm of affairs in dealing with the crisis firmly and ensure its logical conclusion. Thus, upon the advice of the CM, Sabharwal postponed his going on leave.

Soon after cancelling his leave, Sabharwal stepped up the probe into the racket by holding high-level meetings with the SIT team. He also held a conference with the chiefs of the Narcotics Bureaus of the three southern states and that of Delhi. The conference was to identify the source of drug supplies from different parts of the country and from abroad. The SIT appears to now be concentrating on not only weeding out the sources of supply but also on identifying the routes through which the drugs are being smuggled into the city.

Mweanwhile, the SIT has arrested one more drug peddler, taking the total number of those arrested so far to 14. The peddler was picked up from the A C Guards area, and large quantities of narcotic substances were seized from him.

The SIT also has taken into their custody for two days Calvin Mascarenhas, the kingpin of the drug mafia, and his two associates Mohd Quddus and Abdul Wahab, for further interrogation. All the three were brought from the Charlapalli jail and taken to the SIT office, and are now being questioned.

Meanwhile, Calvin's father Jawahar confessed that his son had become a drug addict, and wanted the investigating authorities to identify and weed out the drug suppliers.