Don’t spare anyone involved in drugs racket: Telangana CM

Hyderabad, July 16 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Sunday directed the Prohibition and Excise Department not to spare anybody involved in drugs racket.

Taking a serious note of the racket busted in Hyderabad earlier this month, which allegedly involves some personalities from Telugu film industry, Rao, at a review meeting with senior officials, asked them to act tough against drugs and adulteration and not to spare anyone however high may he or she is.

"In this shady business, don't leave any one. Any politician, even if there is a Cabinet minister involved in this crime, book cases against him," he said, according to a statement from the Chief Minister's office.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, said there was an urgent need to protect Hyderabad's brand image as the city is Telangana state's lifeline.

He said he was pained to hear that even blood is being adulterated and felt that new laws to be enancted, if need be, to punish the guilty with rigorous life term sentence.

Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy, Excise Minister Padma Rao, Government's Chief Advisor Rajiv Sharma, Director General of Police Anurag Sharma and other senior officials attended the meeting.

Excise & Enforcement Director Akun Sabharwal, who is heading in the probe in drugs racket, was also present.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the drugs racket, has served notices to 12 personalities from Telugu film industry based on the information provided by the accused already arrested in the case.

SIT officials said they would question these film personalities and would also try to find out if they were merely using drugs or were also involved in peddling.

SIT, which has so far arrested 13 accused, has found that about 1,000 students of colleges and schools in the city were using drugs.