Chargesheet against 8 in Himachal for involvement in interstate drug smuggling

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Shimla, March 12

The crime branch of the state CID today filed a chargesheet against eight accused hailing from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in the court of District & Sessions Judge, Una, under section 22, 25 and 29 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS) and section 201, 465, 467 & 471 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for being involved in inter-state smuggling of psychotropic substances into Himachal.

The chargesheet has been filed against Maan Singh, a resident of Gagret in Una district, Mahasu Ram, a resident of Vranda village in Nurpur tehsil, Kangra, Bhupender Dutta, a resident of Khadud in Haroli tehsil, Una, Verender Kumar, alias Bindu, a resident of NAC Gagret, Una, Rishabh Jain, a resident of VTC Laxmi Nagar, Delhi, Mohammad Shiraz, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, Sahil Goswami, a resident of Sonipat, Haryana and Vishal Sharma, a resident of Ludhiana, Punjab.

On September 14, 2023, a team led by Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF), Kangra Rajender Jaswal intercepted a vehicle near Shivbaadi Mandir, Gagret and recovered more than 50,000 capsules and tablets of psychotropic substances containing Tramadol Hydrochloride after a search. The contraband was seized by the police team.

Initially, the investigation was carried out by local police but the probe was later taken over by state CID team led by DSP Shakti Singh.

Investigation in the case have established the links of the gang in the state of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. This gang was smuggling psychotropic substances into Himachal through fake invoices of medical stores. The smugglers were smuggling the consignment showing the same to be transported along with surgical masks, gloves, sanitizers etc. whereas in actual the consignments contained only psychotropic substances.

This gang was headed and run by Verender Kumar, alias Bindu, a resident of NAC Gagret, Una. The investigation into the role of Verender Kumar has led the CID to the identification of 82 immoveable properties, five vehicles and 25 bank accounts in his and family members’ names.

The competent authority has confirmed the freezing of illegally acquired immovable properties, vehicles and bank accounts with a cumulative value of Rs 10 crore.