A startling revelation from the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report presented in the Gujarat Assembly has exposed a significant security lapse regarding the storage of narcotics.
According to the audit, a total of 6,510.54 kg of drugs were seized between October 2022 and July 2023. While officials reportedly destroyed 4,177.86 kg of the contraband, approximately 2,332.68 kg of the drugs have vanished from police custody.
This missing stock represents nearly 35 per cent of the total seized narcotics, raising serious alarms over the integrity of the state's evidence management systems.
In response to the discrepancy, the Home Department provided three specific reasons to explain the missing inventory.
Officials claimed that approximately 144.180 kg of ganja was stolen, while a significant portion of the remaining ganja and opium was allegedly consumed or destroyed by rats due to inadequate storage facilities.
Additionally, the department argued that further weight loss occurred naturally as green ganja and opium plants dried up, losing their natural moisture content over time.
However, the CAG has officially expressed its dissatisfaction with these explanations and questioned how such a massive volume of illegal substances could simply vanish without better oversight.
The report notes that the Home Department failed to provide a satisfactory account for the missing 35 per cent of the stock, highlighting a severe lack of proper storage and disposal protocols.
The audit emphasises that the "rats and moisture" theory does not adequately justify the scale of the missing contraband, which exceeds 2,300 kg.
The disappearance of the narcotics has sparked a major controversy, with concerns mounting that the missing drugs may have been diverted back into illicit channels.
The CAG report concludes by demanding higher accountability and immediate improvements to the state's forensic and storage infrastructure to prevent such substantial losses in the future.
The audit stresses the need for more robust protocols to ensure the security of seized evidence and to maintain the public's trust in the state's law enforcement agencies.
