Himachal Pradesh Police has sought stringent provisions for stricter legal deterrence to stop smuggling of drugs especially ‘chitta’ in “intermediate quantity” in the state.
The illicit trade of ‘chitta’ has increased manifold in the state recently, with the police seizing 11.5 kilogram of the banned drug and arresting 1,164 people in 738 cases last year.
This year, till 30 April, as many as 667 people were arrested in 457 cases and 6.39 kg of chitta was recovered, police officials said, adding the drug peddlers are smuggling the adulterated heroin in the state in “consumable and intermediate quantities” in order to escape punishment.
The consumable quantity of heroin is 5 gram and the commercial quantity is 250 gram.
The majority of chitta is smuggled in consumable or intermediate quantities between 5 to 250 gram to escape punishment as consumable and intermediate quantities are bailable, police said.
In 2020, a total of 748 people were arrested in 453 cases and 6.71 kg of the synthetic drug was seized.
Earlier, in a communication to the Principal Secretary of Himachal Pradesh government, Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu had asked for stringent punishment and making the seizure of the “intermediate quantity” of chitta as non-bailable.
The drug smugglers are taking advantage of the huge gap of 245 grams in consumable and commercial quantities and in majority of cases 95 per cent, chitta is smuggled in consumable or intermediate quantities, Kundu told the media persons.
In the communication, the police chief had advocated for death punishment or life imprisonment for manufactures, sellers, transporters and retailers and others associated with psychotropic substances or synthetic drugs.
