Guwahati Railway Station
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Aug 7: Despite its beefed-up security bandobast with modern technical gazettes, Guwahati Railway Station continues to be smugglers’ preferred transit route for illicit commodities. The frequent seizures of contrabands leading to arrests by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) from the railway station and trains passing through it corroborate this assumption.
As often as not, contrabands ranging from phensedyl cough syrup, foreign liquor and ganja to various Burmese products like betel nut and cigarette are seized at Guwahati railway station. The seized commodities are handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP) for further action.
In 2018 alone, the RPF seized 45 kg ganja worth Rs 2.70 lakh in January; 35 kg ganja worth Rs 3.15 lakh in March; 12 kg ganja worth Rs 1.20 lakh in April; 147 bags of Burmese betel nut worth Rs 31,48,622 in June and 44.5 kg ganja worth Rs 3.11 lakh till July 23.
On the other hand, in 2017, the RPF seized 105 kg ganja worth Rs 7.20 lakh in February; 9,000 bottles of phensedyl worth Rs 10,44,000; 900 bottles of Cadila Cough Syrup worth Rs 92,700; 13 packets of Burmese cigarettes (3.86 lakh sticks) worth Rs 29,32,000; 2,080 kg (26 bags) of Burmese betel nut worth Rs 3,57,760; 70 kg ganja worth Rs 3.50 lakh in March. Moreover, the RPF seized 6 kg ganja worth Rs 30,000 in April; 87 IMFL bottles worth Rs 6,126 and 1685 bottles of phensedyl worth Rs 14,837 in June, 6,000 other bottles of phensedyl worth Rs 7.62 lakh in July; 3 kg SP capsules worth Rs 15,000 in August and 142 bottles of IMFL worth Rs 22,700 in September in that year.