Nurpur police dist tightens grip on drug smugglers

Nurpur, the inter-state border police district comprising Nurpur, Jawali, Indora and Fatehpur sub-divisions in lower Kangra region, was once known as safe haven for drug smugglers. Peddling of narcotics drugs like heroin (chitta), hashish (charas), poppy husk and opium was assuming alarming proportions in the region. The mushrooming of local small drug peddlers posed a threat to youngsters. A large number of youth got addicted to drugs.

But now gone are the days as after Nurpur became a police district, a vigorous campaign to curb the drug menace was launched by Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashok Ratan. The district has become an apparent snare for peddlers, who were earlier supplying drugs to youngsters.

Nurpur police district recently secured first rank in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) for the fourth quarter ending December 2024 among all 14 police districts across the state. The district, which was at the bottom (14th rank) in the first quarter (October to December 2022) after coming into existence, jumped to the top rank within two years.

Earlier, in January 2025 on the 55th state-level Statehood Day celebrations at Baijnath, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had awarded SP Ratan for securing the first rank of excellence in law enforcement and administrative efficiency of Nurpur police district in 2023.

The relentless crackdown on drug smugglers and local peddlers has considerably reduced the availability of narcotics in this district during the past two years.

A large number of peddlers and notorious inter-state drug smugglers were booked in multiple cases under the NDPS Act and put behind bars. The financial investigation of notorious drug smugglers and seizure of their properties purchased from money earned through the illegal trade broke their financial backbone.

SP Ratan told The Tribune that the district police had conducted a financial investigation of six drug smugglers active in this border district and seized their property worth Rs 10.76 crore last year. He said 120 notorious drug peddlers, including 20 women, had been sent to jail last year.

It was in August 2022 when the then Jai Ram Thakur government notified Nurpur as the 14th police district in the state after consistent efforts by former minister and local MLA Rakesh Pathania.

Ashok Ratan, who completed his probation period as the Nurpur DSP in 2020, joined as the Nurpur SP after two years. The financial investigation and seizure of properties of drug smugglers worth crores and use of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT-NDPS Act) by the district police proved effective weapons to combat the menace here.