Mizoram cops, excise join hands for massive anti-drug campaign in state

The Mizoram police is set to launch a massive fight against drugs and addiction, in coordination with the excise department and the state's largest civil society organisation, Young Mizo Association (YMA), Home Minister K Sapdanga announced on August 26.

Inaugurating the basic training programme for 280 newly recruited constables at Police Training School (PTS) in Thenzawl in Serchhip district, Sapdanga said drug smugglers and addicts commit theft and other crimes, endangering society, which demands the need to fight against them.

He said that the state government has also been making massive efforts to curb smuggling of areca nuts from Myanmar and has stopped illegally taking fines from travellers by police at check gates along the inter-state borders.

The event was attended by supply minister B Lalchhanzova and Mizoram DGP Sharad Agarwal.

During the nine-month course, the trainees from all 11 districts of the state will undergo a balanced mix of indoor and outdoor training focused on physical fitness, professional knowledge, ethics, and character development, according to a statement by police.

The revised syllabus incorporates the new criminal laws with enhanced focus on cybercrime, forensics, human rights, and community policing, it said.

The objective of the training is to focus on preparing the recruits for empathetic, community-oriented policing with focus on providing committed, fair and unbiased services to the citizens, it said.

The key aspect will be on imparting a passion for physical fitness to the recruits in order to ensure that they have a sharp mind, good decision-making abilities, robust team spirit and camaraderie, the statement said.