INDIA: PUNJAB WANTS DEATH PENALTY FOR SMUGGLERS

The Punjab cabinet decided to recommend to the Centre death penalty for drug smugglers. The move comes at a time when the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government is facing criticism from different quarters over alleged spate of deaths due to drug overdose in the state.
It will act as a deterrent to the heinous crime, which was "destroying" the lives of youth in Punjab and many other places, said a government spokesperson.
The cabinet meeting, chaired by the chief minister, also resolved to send a formal recommendation soon to the Union government to this effect.
The chief minister had called the meeting to discuss the issue, particularly in the context of deaths of nearly 30 youths due to alleged drug overdose and adulterated drugs in the state recently.