Whitefield cops lead march for awareness about drugs

The Whitefield police led a “Freedom from Drugs Candle Light March” on Wednesday to create awareness about the ill-effects of drug use and addiction in Whitefield.

The march, that was supposed to start from Inner Circle, Whitefield and end at Hope Farm junction, was called off due to heavy rain. But that did not deter the police officers who shifted the programme to Forum Value Mall in Whitefield. The crowd consisted of more than 1,000 people, said one of the police officers.

Deputy commissioner of police, Abdul Azad and MLA of Mahadevapura zone, Aravind Limbavali attended the programme.

“Having seen many people including students getting addicted to drugs, we were keen to do what we could and hence we were ready to support the police department through this march. The rain turned out to be a blessing in disguise since conducting the programme at Forum Mall was fruitful as there was a huge crowd,” said one of the residents at Whitefield.

Limbavali said, “The population of Bangladeshis and Nigerians is growing in our city. Many of them are involved in the drug mafia in many areas. The youth from our country are also influenced by them and most of them have turned out to be drug addicts. The situation is worse in the areas where there are colleges, hostels and PGs.”

He opined that there is a need to set up a detention centre in Bengaluru that keeps the illegal migrants at bay. “I discussed setting up a detention centre in the city with MP PC Mohan recently. The funds for the facility have been sanctioned. It will be established soon,” said Limbavali.

He claimed that the city police had arrested Bangladeshis and Nigerians involved in drug mafia several times before, but they easily got bail with help of influential people. He expressed his concern about youngsters in India getting involved in illegal drug activities and urged them to shun drugs.