Drug hotspots: Kangra battles dope supply via Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, November 20

Border areas of Kangra district along Pathankot, Punjab, remain a drug hotspot, posing a challenge to the police to check the widespread menace.

In the Nurpur area, 62 NDPS cases have been registered in five police stations of Jawali, Fatehpur, Nurpur, Indora and Damtal this year. Of these, more than half (33) have been registered at the Damtal police station alone.

The fact that only 80 cases have been registered at 16 other police stations of the entire district makes it clear that Damtal is the most-hit area.

33 cases in Damtal

• In Nurpur area, 62 NDPS cases registered this year
• Of these, 33 registered at Damtal police station alone
• In a worrying sign, several village youths in Nurpur area have taken to drug peddling

To curb drug peddling, the state government had recently carved out a police district in Nurpur, comprising five police stations. An SP-rank officer heads the police district.

DIG (Northern Range) Sumedha Dwivedi said synthetic drugs such as heroin were smuggled into the Nurpur area from adjoining areas of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. “The district police are working in coordination with the Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir Police to curb the drug menace. The police force of the three states/UTs exchange information regularly,” she said. The DIG further said the Kangra police had acted tough against drug peddlers. “Besides registration of cases, the police have started confiscating property of peddlers. This move has acted as a deterrent against drug smuggling,” she added.

In a worrying sign, several village youths have taken to drug peddling. They manage to smuggle synthetic drugs from Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, and peddle it in small quantities in the district, the sources said.

Besides drug peddling, the sale of illicit liquor poses a challenge to the police. Sources said residents of some villages in Nurpur brewed and sold illicit liquor. Channi Beli is one of the villages on the Kangra-Pathankot border notorious for this.

In spite of the police crackdown, the sale of illicit liquor continues unabated.

Another disturbing trend is that women have taken to drug peddling. Last year, the Kangra police had arrested 32 women for drug peddling.

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