Should the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) be slapped against international border criminals? The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has tossed the question to all state governments and sought a detailed analysis before taking the final call on the national security issue.
International border criminals are those involved in human trafficking; people who smuggle drugs and guns through the international border; cattle smugglers and coal smugglers; and handlers who bring fake currency.
The law under which the MHA is seeking action is UAPA — introduced to provide an effective way to prevent “certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations”, and to deal with “terrorist activities”.
According to the anti-terror law, ‘unlawful’ activity is an act which disclaims, questions, disrupts, or is intended to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India; any attempt or action that supports or intends to support cession or secession of any part of India. A terror act is any violent act that threatens the security of India or strikes terror in the people living in India or abroad.
Sources in law enforcement agencies say when cattle smugglers are caught, the cases are taken over by customs. In IPC, this just qualifies as theft and cruelty against animals, which is not stringent enough to punish the offenders. Since there is no fear of law, villagers earn huge money through this trade and it eventually becomes a system.
In the case of drug smuggling, offenders are booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), while arms smuggling is covered under the Arms Act.
Sources say the motto of the Centre’s proposal is to curb international crimes with strictness and instill fear in smugglers to break well-established chains.
On the UAPA proposal, a former BSF officer told News18: “It’s a very stringent Act which may lead to human rights concerns but there are areas where this can be imposed. Crimes that affect national security may be brought under UAPA. Groups dealing with fake currency in an effort to destabilise the country, those involved in drugs or arms smuggling should also face action under UAPA.”
Security experts, while in agreement about the need to curb crimes that become a threat to the nation, warn against the possible misuse of the law.
India has an international boundary of about 15,200 kilometers and it remains to be seen if the Centre’s proposal cuts ice with states.
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