98.64 percent of 1.12 lakh candidates clear Punjab Police recruitment dope test

Chandigarh, Aug.8 (ANI-Newsvoir): Punjab government has created history by conducting the dope test of 1.12 lakh male aspirants for the police constables. What is believed to be the biggest 'sample survey' of reality check on drug addiction in Punjab, almost 4.7 lakh aspirants for 6,252 jobs of constables will undergo dope test. The results of first batch of 1.12-lakh young men of the state have come out, which put the addictive-drug users at 1.36% that is, 1,524 of the 1.12 lakh who underwent the test. The result has finally put to rest the startling figures of drug abuse in Punjab that have been making rounds in various news reports that more than 70% of youth in Punjab are hooked on to drugs. "From a research point of view, this kind of sample is not available with any state in the country. By the end of the recruitment process, we will have data of almost 4 lakh men, the age group, districts where the numbers are highest, and the kind of drugs being consumed. If the Punjab Police permit us to use the data, we can conduct a seminal work on the problem of drug addiction in the state," said Dr Arvind Sharma, professor and head, department of psychiatry, BFUHS, Faridkot. The police recruitment dope test, the first-of-its-kind in India has finally proved the point that the drug issue has been blown out of proportion. The results of dope test has shattered the negative perception that 70 % of Punjabi youth are drug addicts. Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, has conducted the dope test being made mandatory by Punjab government for the recruitment to Police department. The researchers are upbeat about the sample size as nowhere in the country sample of this scale is available. At the end of recruitment drive, a data of more than four lakh young men will be available from the state. Complete transparency is being maintained while conducting the dope test and anybody can visit any of centres where dope tests are being conducted. (ANI-Newsvoir)