Nasir Azam
Srinagar, Oct 20: Vowing to intensify its fight against the drug trade in Srinagar, the city police has already tightened its noose on those involved in the drug trafficking as 30 persons have been slapped with Public Safety Act (PSAs), 21 more detained under PIT-NDPS, 132 FIRs lodged while as 222 persons arrested this year so far in addition to 51 detained.
According to official figures, Srinagar police have busted a series of drug trafficking rackets and arrested many masterminds including main suppliers. Figures available from January 1 this year till October 20, suggests that 30 persons involved in drug trade have been booked under PSA, which means two year’s detention without trial.
“132 FIRs have been lodged with regard to drug trade alone while as 222 people have been arrested this year so far, who were involved in drug rackets,” the data reveals.
It states that 21 persons have been arrested under PIT-NDPS while 51 persons were detained in all under preventive laws. “In total, 273 have been either detained or arrested this year so far,” the figures read.
Srinagar police have been putting in its efforts to catch the “big fish” that include suppliers who are connected to the ground and have big chains that help them supply drugs to top, middle and lower rung workers, which ultimately reaches the youth. Sources in Police said it have seized huge quantities of contra-brand substances, charas, brown sugar and even Heroine besides narcotics. “A large number of banned cough syrups and tables have also been seized during the current year,” the sources said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, who is personally monitoring the anti-drug drive across Srinagar, said: “All persons involved in drug trade will be dealt strictly under law and no one will be spared. We will start property attachments of those involved in drug trafficking under the NDPS act.”
Pertinently, a recent report by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre in AIIMS revealed that over six lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir are victims of drug abuse. The patient-intake records at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) Srinagar, a premium rehab facility, seconds the NDDTC claim. While 489 drug abusers reported into the facility in 2016, the number grew exponentially to 7,420 in 2019. In 2020, it dropped to 3,536, but that is attributed to the COVID-19 lockdown. Ninety per cent of the drug users are in the 17-33 age group. Shockingly, as per the medicos, drug abusers are preferring IV method instead of taking drugs orally.
