The reports of homicide coming at a time when nearly 10 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir are victims of drug abuse, as the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment informed the Lok Sabha in March this year.
Of this, the government data showed, at least 1.44 lakh drug abusers are consuming cannabis while opioid addiction is prevalent among 5.34 lakh men and 8,000 women, and sedative addiction among 1.6 lakh men and 8,000 women.
The Ministry was responding to a query by Lok Sabha member Hasnain Masoodi of the National Conference.
Health experts suspect that these figures could be much lower than the actual numbers as many drug users are loath to open up or seek medical care fearing ostracism.
At any rate, the figure is a significant spike from 2022, when a report by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre of AIIMS in June estimated the total number of drug abusers in Jammu & Kashmir at over 6 lakh for that year, placing the Union Territory fifth in the country among all States and Union Territories.
Another study, conducted in December 2022, also painted a grim picture. In this study, done across all 10 districts of Kashmir by the Department of Mental Health and Neurosciences in collaboration with the Health Services Department and financed by the Social Welfare Department, Kashmir was ranked second, ahead of Punjab, in drug abuse among the States and Union Territories in the country. The North-East States combined took the top spot.
Kashmir and from there to the rest of India. Many political observers have described this racket as “narco-terrorism”.
In previous interactions, a handful of officials in the security apparatus and researchers tracking the drug menace in Kashmir had told Frontline that Keran village in Kupwara in the northern tip of the Himalayan valley serves as the conduit for the drug racketeers. From Keran, the consignments reach Rajouri border and then make their way to Jammu, from where they travel to the mainland.
The money involved is enormous. Apparently, one gram of heroin is available for Rs.1,200-1,500 in Kupwara, but in Srinagar peddlers charge Rs. 2,500-3,000 for it.
There are frequent seizures of consignments coming from Pakistan. In March, over 300 kilograms of narcotic substances were seized and destroyed in Samba district by the Narcotics Control Bureau’s Jammu zonal unit. It included 153 kg of heroin and 177 kg of charas.
In October 2022, the Jammu & Kashmir Police seized 21.5 kg of heroin worth more than Rs.75 crore. The consignments had “Afghan” stamps on them and were being smuggled in a truck from Kashmir to Punjab.
In 2022, the Jammu & Kashmir Police registered 1,021 cases and arrested 1,700 drug peddlers under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
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