Visakhapatnam: Vizag is among the top producers of cannabis in the country.
The conviction rate in ganja trade cases is low, estimated at about 5 to 10 per cent. The legal fraternity says that enforcement officials have little knowledge of the various provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and do not follow the mandatory provisions.
Most of the cases related to ganja trade have ended in acquittals due to this.
The number of cases booked against ganja smugglers under the NDPS Act by the department of prohibition and excise and the police has been on the rise over the last few years in Visakhapatnam and other parts of the state. The failure of the investigating officers in terms of producing key evidence in the court has helped the accused escape jail.
According to statistics from the police and excise department, they had seized over 50 tonnes of hemp and arrested over 700 smugglers in 2016. They destroyed hundreds of acres of ganja plantation in Vizag district alone, figures show.
However, only about 35 persons have been convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and that too under sections for petty crimes.
Lawyers believe that the NDPS Act was strong enough to sentence a person to life imprisonment and even capital punishment for smuggling.
What is needed is to frame the case strongly without leaving any loopholes.
Dr G. Kalyani, legal adviser-cum-public prosecutor of prohibition and excise department, observed that most of the ganja cases have ended in acquittal due to ignorance of the investigating officers from police and excise department.
Cases booked by them lack comprehensiveness that can lead to stronger conviction.
Though the police managed to seize large quantity of hemp, they failed in alerting their superior officer or involving a gazetted officer as witness to the arrests. These lacunae weaken the case and allows the apprehended persons to go scot-free, she said.
Admitting that the conviction rate in ganja cases is not encouraging, assistant commissioner of excise S.V.V.N. Babji Rao and deputy excise commissioner (Vizag) Ch. Gopal Krishna said there was an urgent need to create awareness among the investigating and field officers about the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act to improve the conviction rate.In most of the cases, they managed to nab a few persons but have not been able to breach the cartel and reach the kingpins, they added.
