National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma on Wednesday expressed concern over the "growing" sale of narcotics in Chhattisgarh and said she has heard the state was fast turning into “Udta Chhattisgarh”, a reference to the drug menace. Sharma, who met Director General of Police Ashok Juneja on Tuesday to discuss pending complaints on which Chhattisgarh cops were yet to give replies to the commission, also slammed the police in the Congress-ruled state for their alleged laxity in handling offenses against women.
During the discussion, the DGP tried to give the impression that "all is well" in the state, the NCW chief said. Targeting the Congress government for allowing online liquor sale in the state, she said, “The Chief Minister (Bhupesh Baghel) had promised to ban liquor ahead of polls. But now it is being delivered at home through an online facility causing trouble to women. If men consume liquor more, then women will have to bear the brunt of it which is known to all of us."
The NCW chairperson also drew attention to the "growing" drug menace in the state. "Another issue is drug sales which have increased in the state. When I spoke to the DGP about it, he said Chhattisgarh serves as a corridor for the supply of drugs but its sale is less in the state. But during discussions with women here I came to know that drug sales have increased here and youngsters are becoming victims of the drug menace. Many people told me that like 'Udta Punjab', the state is becoming 'Udta Chhattisgarh,” she said at a press conference in Raipur.
Sharma said she will write to the state's chief secretary in this regard. 'Udta Punjab' was a 2016 Bollywood film loosely based on drug abuse by youngsters in the northern state. There were 156 cases (related to women), ten of them taken up suo moto (on its own) by the NCW after going through media reports, in which the state police were yet to send replies to the commission despite sending repeated reminders, she said.
“I met the state's DGP on Tuesday to raise the issue of delay in submitting replies (action take reports) by the police. When I met him, his (the DGP) way of talking was like 'all is well in the state. Neither was (he) ready to accept any suggestions nor listen to anything. It was like 'everything is going on well in the state and it does not need police anymore. But in reality complaints we received from the state are of a very serious nature,” Sharma said.
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