78006 persons were arrested under NDPS Act in 2017: MHA

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday said that 78006 persons were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 as per the Crime in India 2017 report.

According to the ministry, these include 46835 persons who were arrested for the possession of drugs for personal use or consumption and 31231 persons were arrested for possession of drugs for trafficking.

This was stated by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy while he was answering Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Rita Bahuguna Joshi's query, that said, "Whether the government is aware that as per the Crime in India 2017 Report, the number of arrests under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for the possession of drugs for personal use/ consumption outnumber the arrests for illicit drug trafficking and if so, the details thereof."

Reddy further stated that provisions for dealing with drug addicts and drug consumers are available in section-27, section 64 A and section 39 of the NDPS Act, 1985.

He was answering another question of Joshi that asked whether the government intends to transform the application of the NDPS Act, 1985 by treating those who possess drugs for personal consumption as victims of the drug trade rather than criminals and asked for further details in case the government intends to do so.

The second part of the Budget Session of Parliament commenced on Monday with all COVID-19 precautionary measures in place.

( With inputs from ANI )