Kangra police arrest drug peddler under PIT NDPS Act

Kangra police on Tuesday arrested a habitual drug peddler from Sakoh area of Dharamsala under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act. Under this law, police can make a preventive arrest of a drug peddler on suspicion that he was peddling drugs and keep the accused in custody for up to a year.

Sources here said that this is the second case registered in the entire state under the PIT NDPS Act and the first in Kangra district. 

Kangra SSP Shallini Agnihotri, when contacted, said the Kangra police are fully committed to the complete eradication of drug abuse. Effective action is being taken by the Police Administration to root out the drug trade in the district so that the young generation can be saved from drugs.

The accused has been identified as Kiran Kumar, a resident of Dharamsala.

Kiran was involved in illegal drug trade for long and six cases under the NDPS Act were registered against him.

The SSP said a case for the arrest of Kiran was sent to the Himachal home secretary, which was further forwarded to a committee headed by a judge of the Himachal High Court. The committee formed under the PIT NDPS Act recommended  Kiran’s arrest for six months.

Since he can be kept in custody under the PIT NDPS act for up to a year, the police would move an appeal for an increase in his custody after the completion of his three-month sentence, Shallini said.