New reward norms for drug informers

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued fresh guidelines for granting rewards to officers and informers in case of seizure of drugs.

The maximum reward is for helping in seizure of cocaine, where one could get up to Rs 2.4 lakh per kg. For heroin seizure, the reward is Rs 1.20 lakh per kg.

As per the latest policy, an officer is eligible for Rs 20 lakh reward during his entire career and Rs 50,000 at a time. However, a maximum reward of Rs 2 lakh may also be given to an individual in exceptional cases by the Apex Central Rewards Committee.

Up to 50% of the total admissible reward amount can be given at pre-trial stage if the test report from chemical lab turns positive, it said.

The reward sanctioning authority should also consider certain factors while granting reward to informers, like accuracy of information, degree of risk involved, extent and nature of help rendered by the informer. They should also check whether the information also gave clues of the person involved in the drug trafficking racket.

The Narcotics Control Bureau has been made the coordinating agency to process the reward proposal of other central and state agencies working in the field of drug interdiction.