Foreign students on top among those facing cases of drug-peddling, theft, rash driving

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 15

With the region emerging as the hub of education institutions, foreign students have been dominating various crimes committed here like drug peddling, rash driving and theft etc, thereby bringing a bad name to the education institutions in which they study.

Information obtained by this correspondent from the Jalandhar Commissionerate regarding the involvement of foreigners and foreign students in crime through the Right to Information (RTI) Act has brought forth startling revelations.

In the past one and a half year, the Jalandhar police have made huge drug recoveries from foreigners. Among the cases registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, foreign students face many cases. In the said period, 12 foreign citizens were booked by the Jalandhar police in various crimes like drug peddling, rash driving, theft or cheating, of which eight cases are of drug peddling. Among the eight foreigners booked for drug peddling, six are students of a university in Phagwara.

The big catch

The city police arrested one Agu Emmanuel (30) and a girl Okoh Precious (23), a native of Nigeria, with a big catch of heroin worth several crores on June 14, 2016. Then the fact had come to the fore that the duo was also supplying drugs to students in the region. Suspecting their connection with the international smugglers, Central agencies, too, had interrogated them.

6 students of LPU caught under NDPS Act: RTI Act

As per the RTI reply by the city police crime branch, six students of Lovely Professional University (LPU), Phagwara, were nabbed under the NDPS Act, while three in others crimes.

The students nabbed for drug peddling were Kwizera Fabrice of Rwanda, Kingsly of Seirra Leona, Ndikumana Karani Jackson of Nigeria, Thomas Liberty Atoma alias Jimmy of Nigeria, Rimond of Zimbian and Nkumba Kifufya of Zimbian. While the university student, named Criscian of Tanzania was nabbed for rash driving, Didier Irakarama and Alian Sivarinzi were nabbed for house theft. Aman Mittal, deputy director (media), categorically denied that nabbed foreigners were students of the LPU and said they could possibly the students of other institutes. “The police should inquire about the institute before mentioning the name of the institute in the case file. Whenever any African student is nabbed, it is considered that the same could be a student of the LPU which is totally wrong,” Mittal added. The university regularly holds induction and counselling programmes to discourage the students from being part of any wrong practices, otherwise the university would take strict action against them, he said.

48 NRIs wanted to police in various crimes

As many as 48 NRIs are wanted by the city police in various crimes like criminal conspiracy, cheating, culpable homicide, attempt to murder, murder, dowry death, PUDA Act etc. Fourteen NRIs, hiding in Canada, top the list, followed by six in the USA, three each in New Zealand and the UK and one in Pakistan. The police said look-out notices had already been issued against these NRIs.