A recent viral video made by a 28-year-old youth from Mirik has shaken up the local administration and has been turning heads. The video which was made after the youth was recently arrested for drug possession, revealed several shocking details about the deeply rooted drug nexus in the region. The youth is heard candidly accusing the powerful and influential people, including some from police administration of being connected in the racket. Following the video, the local people, governmental and non-governmental organizations raised strong objection and demanded immediate intervention of the administration to eradicate the drugs menace in the region.
Amid the uproar, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista addressed the issue through a press release today. “The increase in drug trafficking and abuse in our region is not hidden from anyone…The menace of drugs is so profound that an entire generation of youths could be at risk of being lost, and hundreds of families across our region are suffering because of this menace,” the MP’s statement read
As per the information, the MP reached out to the Darjeeling District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police Darjeeling and the Commissioner of Police Siliguri and requested them to investigate the drugs supply chain in the region thoroughly.
The MP further added that the rapidly increasing reports of illegal activities across the critical “Chicken Neck” region, ‘threatens the national security’ as it is surrounded by international borders of Nepal, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and the ‘gateway to the Northeast’ connecting further to Southeast Asia.
“A more worrisome aspect that I have highlighted is that some of those arrested in the hills have accused individuals from within the police force and administration ‘of being involved in these illegal activities and drug supply chains and are providing patronage to such gangs’,” MP Bista said, without directly mentioning the said youth’s viral video
He further added that he has urged the DM Darjeeling, SP Darjeeling and Siliguri Commissioner of Police to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations and ensure that all the culprits behind the supply and smuggling of drugs are dealt with in the most stringent of terms.
While lauding the vigour and dedication of Darjeeling Police and Siliguri Police Commissionerate for cracking down on drugs abusers and peddlers in the region, MP Bista assured the administration of his full cooperation towards making the region drugs-free.