In a decisive regulatory move, the Mumbai police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) has issued a citywide directive mandating all medical, pharmacy, and drug stores in Mumbai and its suburbs to install CCTV cameras at their entry, exit, and sales counters. The directive, announced by DCP Navanath Dhavale (ANC), gives shop owners a one-month window to comply. Failure to do so will invite legal action under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

The order is part of a joint action plan by the Narcotics Control Bureau and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), New Delhi. The goal is to monitor the sale of Schedule X, H1, and H-category drugs, many of which are often sold without valid prescriptions despite being regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules.

In the past six months alone, the Mumbai police has registered 49 cases. Representation pic/iStock