A day after a drug officer was shot dead in Punjab, drug inspectors (DI) in the State are contemplating submitting a representation to the State government requesting police constables to be allotted to the Telangana Drug Control Administration (DCA).
Apart from regular checks on medical shops, DIs conduct raids on unlicensed medicine manufacturing units, and seize material in case of violation of rules.
On Friday, Neha Shorie, 38, who was posted as zonal licensing authority with Punjab government’s Drug and Food Chemical Laboratory, was shot dead in her office by a man named Balwinder Singh. His shop licence was cancelled after intoxicants were recovered during a raid conducted by the drug officer. DIs in Telangana held a condolence meeting on Saturday.
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The tragic incident in Punjab has prompted drug inspectors to discuss their safety as far as conducting raids are concerned. The State has 58 DIs.
Officials from the department said two constables in every district are allotted to DCA offices in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Andhra DCA officials said police personnel accompany them during raids on medical shops and medicines manufacturing units, and help DIs handle court cases.
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Telangana Drug Inspectors’ Association president M. Chandra Shekhar said they handle court cases related to their department and that the work involves serving summons to accused and witness. He said if witnesses shift places two to three times, they have to trace current addresses and serve the summons.
Mr. Shekar added that their work also involves conducting raids on unlicensed manufacturing units, some of which are located in remote locations. “If a police constable is by our side during raids, we will feel secure,” he said.
However, there have been no incident of DIs in the State coming under attack of facing ire during raids. Mr Chandra Shekhar said discussions on submitting the representation are still on.