After a drugs de-addiction drive named ‘Nijaat Abhiyan’ achieved the desired results in Rajnandgaon, it was expanded to other districts of Chhattisgarh, to free the youth from psychotropic substances and help them adopt a healthy lifestyle. The drive, that was initially launched by Rajnandgaon Police under the leadership of the then SP, Mr. Santosh Singh, IPS, is now successfully running in several districts of the state.
Because of its success rate, the Nijat initiative was selected for the prestigious IACP 2022 Award for ‘Leadership in Crime Prevention’ in institutional category. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is the world’s largest and most influential professional association of police leaders, comprising police officers from 165 countries around the world. Earlier, Nijat was also recognised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), an organization of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
Indian Masterminds spoke to the initiator of the Nijat campaign, 2011-batch IPS officer Santosh Singh, who is now the SP of Korba district in Chhattisgarh, to get more details.
THREE-POINT ACTIVITIES
On the instruction of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and under the guidance of DGP Ashok Juneja, Chhattisgarh Police started taking strict action against drugs peddlers and bootleggers. Along with that, intensive public awareness and rehabilitation of addicts were also taken up under the Nijaat Abhiyan.
When Nijat was launched in Rajnandgaon under the leadership of the then SP, Santosh Singh, it mainly included three points. They were – public awareness, police action, and help in counselling and rehabilitation of drug addicts. The campaign was promoted by the police through banner posters, hoardings and wall-paintings in villages; short movies with rap songs; and social media. Social organizations and people’s representatives were also roped in to help out.
Mr. Santosh Singh said, “The family and society are constantly affected by intoxication. People have been made aware of the side effects through the awareness programmes. In four months, 1154 cases under the Excise Act were registered in Rajnandgaon district, around 6362 litres of liquor worth Rs. 91,40,548 were seized, and 1200 accused arrested. The campaign made an effective contribution to the fight against drug addiction, which is a crime as well as a social evil.”
COUNSELLING OF ADDICTS
Counselling of drug addicts were started in all police stations and outposts. Drug addicts were identified and called to police stations for counselling sessions, where the side effects of intoxication were explained to them. They were clearly told that it would not only affect their body, but also create financial crisis in their life and lead to criminal activities.
“The campaign had wide impact and people started coming to the police. Those who were not able to quit were guided by professional counsellors. In some cases, they were sent to drug de-addiction centre or hospital for medical treatment,” Mr. Singh said.
SUCCESS IN KORBA
With its zero-tolerance policy and mass-awareness programmes, the Nijat Abhiyan has started yielding fruitful results in Korba district as well, where Mr. Santosh Singh is currently posted as SP. The Korba Police has been successful in effectively stopping the smuggling of narcotics and illicit liquor. While counselling of the addicts in police stations are going on, separate counselling rooms are also being constructed.
As a result of the public awareness programmes, people are getting inspired to shun all forms of addiction and lead a healthy life. That the programme is a success can be gauged from the huge attendance of people in the meetings, rallies and street plays ,organised under the mass awareness campaign, in towns and remote villages of the district.
