Drug addiction fuelling crime in Guwahati

Noonmati girl murderer a drug addict

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, June 25: The arrest of the alleged murdered of a girl student at Noonmati area has put the spotlight back on the scourge of increasing drug addiction in the city.

The accused, 22-year-old Akbar Ali alias Vikey is a daily wage earner and a drug addict.

Origilly from Barpeta, Vikey used two dendrite tubes daily.

"The accused confessed to have first strangulated the girl and then slit her throat," said a police official, adding that a case of rape and murder has been taken up against the accused.

The medical examition and forensic reports are yet to come and that is why police have not yet concluded whether it was a case of rape.

However, the accused has denied that he raped the girl.

The body of the victim, a fourth semester student of Gauhati College, was found in a bush at Luit gar in the Noonmati area in the city soon after she came out of her house for the college library at 11 am.

The incident is just yet another instance of drug addicts increasing taking to crime in the city.

“The drug addicts lose their thought process and end up getting involved in crimil acts,” says apolice officer, how the mece has affected physical and moral welfare of the rising generation. Addiction to drugs and alcohol frequently provides motive for crimes like burglary, theft, and sometimes more violent crimes.

Sources said there has been increasing number of instances in the city in which drug addicts are being found committing crimes, many of them for money.

“A regular drug user needs around Rs 30,000 a month to buy rcotics. Where will he get the money? He resorts to such easy means. Either they go for peddling or stching,” a source said.

Youths in the city are reported to have been using even expensive drugs like heroine, brown sugar and other such drugs.

It is seen, that petty crimes like stching are being committed by drug addicts for easy cash. The suppliers target drop-outs and frustrated young people, sometimes even those who fail to get admissions in their aspired institutions. Initially, they supply the drugs at low rates and when the youths get addicted, the suppliers increase the costs. To meet this cash, the addicts then resort to crimil ways.

A population based cross-sectiol study conducted during September 2008 to August 2009 among 215 street children between the ages of five and 18 years of Guwahati had found that 80.9per cent of the participants were substance abusers. As the age increases substance use was more common when compared to younger age group, the study had said. Meanwhile, the rcotics Control Bureau today seized two kg heroin from Guwahati railway station and arrested one person identified as Pankaj Kumar. The contraband was sourced from Imphal and was being trafficked to Muktapur in Bihar.