IMPHAL, February 25: I Ibohalbi, the Opposition leader and MLA of Oinam assembly constituency has demanded that all drug related cases of the state should be handed to the Central Narcotic Bureau (CNB), which is an autonomous body to find out the real owner(s) of the drug consignments surfacing in the state and to give befitting punishment to all those involved in its trafficking. The Opposition leaders spoke to media at his official residential quarters at Babupara today evening.
He further said that the all the sections of the society in the state have always been suspicious about the involvement of many high level officers’ of the state, Ministers and MLAs in the drug related cases.
Drawing attention to an Army Colonel who was arrested with others from Pallel with a huge drug consignment, he said, ” Yesterday`s incident clearly shows that high level people are certainly involved in the illegal export of drugs in the state.”
He asked whether the Central government was deploying the Army in the state for the protection of the people living in the state and north east region or for the mass destruction of the people. “Our state has become one of the favourite places for some Army officers to earn money by using their official posts and by doing illegal things hand in hand with some minister and high level officer of the state,” he claimed.
He further said that the Government of India should take appropriate action against the PRO and other personnel and demanded that the earlier state cabinet decision to hand over drug related cases to the CBI should instead be handed over an autonomous body dealing with drug and narcotic related cases like the Central Narcotic Bureau (CNB). He maintained that CBI will not able to produce the real culprits as political influence will hamper in investigations and added that the issue will be raised in the next assembly session of the state.
He further demanded that the state government should allow the state security forces to have the authority to check all vehicles plying on the National highways except that of the Governor and Chief Minister Motorcade as there are chances that many other high level officers of the state might be using their vehicles for transporting the banned substances taking the advantage of their official posts.
