Punjab to propose death penalty for drug smugglers

The Punjab government on Monday decided to recommend to the Union government death penalty for drug peddlers and drug smugglers found guilty of the offence.

Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said the move will act as a strong deterrent to the heinous crime which is destroying the lives of the youth in Punjab and many other places.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the state Cabinet on Monday.

The Cabinet resolved to send a formal recommendation soon to the Union government to make drug smuggling an offence, where the guilty will face the gallows.

The recommendation will require the approval of the Centre.

An earlier recommendation by the state government to the Centre, which sought death penalty for those found guilty of sacrilege of the sacred Sikh holy scripture — Guru Granth Sahib — was "rejected" by the Union government.

The Punjab government was given the option to withdraw the proposed legislation, which it did.

The rejection was on the ground that the capital punishment cannot be awarded for the desecration of one holy scripture of a particular religion.

Punjab is notorious for drugs. Over the last month, there have been several reports of victims dying of "drug overdose".

The menace of drugs was a major poll agenda in the run-up to the last Assembly elections that brought the Congress back to power after a decade of the SAD-BJP rule.

The chief minister pledged to eradicate drugs within four weeks of coming to power.