SRINAGAR: Days after senior Jammu and Kashmir Minister Sakina Itoo questioned the demolition and attachment of properties during the anti-drug campaign, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday asserted that the administration would intensify its crackdown on drug trafficking networks, warning that “every rupee and every asset” linked to smugglers would be pursued.
Addressing a gathering during the Nasha-Mukt Jammu Kashmir Campaign in Baramulla and later during a padyatra in Kupwara, Sinha said the administration’s actions over the past month had dealt a “devastating blow” to the narcotics ecosystem operating in the Union Territory.
“We will chase every rupee, every asset, and shell company of drug traffickers, ensuring the harshest punishment for those who are destroying our youth’s future,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
According to the administration, more than 2.35 lakh awareness and outreach events have been conducted across Jammu and Kashmir during the past 31 days under the anti-drug campaign. Nearly 700 drug smugglers and peddlers have been arrested so far, while authorities have seized properties worth crores allegedly built through proceeds of narcotics trade.
Sinha said over 300 driving licences and more than 400 vehicle registrations linked to alleged drug smugglers had been recommended for cancellation. He added that over 3,300 drug stores across Jammu and Kashmir had been inspected, with around 150 licences suspended for violating prescribed norms.
“Nearly 3,000 CCTV cameras are now installed at drug stores across the Union Territory,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor also linked drug trafficking to terrorism, alleging that narcotics smuggling was being used to finance militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
“For decades, people in Jammu Kashmir saw drugs and terrorism as separate threats. But they are not two problems; they are the two heads of the same snake. One head makes money through drugs while the other uses that money to fuel terrorism,” he said.
Calling for intensified vigilance in border districts, Sinha said Kupwara, being a frontier district, must adopt the “harshest action” against narcotics networks. He revealed that 28 drug smugglers had already been arrested in Kupwara and Handwara areas.
He further said every police station in Kupwara had been directed to identify active drug smugglers and peddlers and launch decisive action within the next 68 days.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police continued demolition and attachment drives against alleged narcotics offenders in several districts.
In Baramulla’s Pattan area, police demolished an allegedly illegal cowshed constructed on State land by a known drug peddler. In south Kashmir, authorities demolished two shops allegedly built on encroached State land by persons accused in NDPS cases.
In Srinagar, police attached a double-storey residential house along with land worth approximately Rs 1.2 crore in the Gasoo-Hazratbal area, alleging the property had been acquired through illicit drug trafficking proceeds.
Police also attached residential property and land parcels belonging to alleged drug dealers in Baramulla district.
The intensified crackdown comes days after Minister Sakina Itoo publicly expressed concern over the demolition and sealing of properties during the anti-drug campaign.
“In Kashmir, you are demolishing properties and sealing and attaching houses. If a youth is involved and the property is in his father’s name, it is being sealed,” Itoo had said, adding that the use of bulldozers “was not helpful”.
Despite defending stringent enforcement measures, the Lieutenant Governor also stressed rehabilitation and counselling for addicts, saying society must treat drug addiction with compassion.
“We don’t shame diabetes patients into health or cure cancer victims through stigma. Likewise, we must treat and rehabilitate addicts with dignity,” he said.
Sinha announced that the administration would work with religious leaders, schools, colleges and social organisations to establish community-based anti-drug initiatives in high-risk areas. Under the proposed “Family Fortress Initiative”, weekly family dialogues on drug abuse will be organised in educational institutions and places of worship across Jammu and Kashmir.
The Lieutenant Governor also urged citizens to actively support the anti-drug campaign and assured that every complaint received through counselling and helpline platforms would be acted upon swiftly.
“Together, we will dismantle the drug smuggling networks, free our youth from addiction’s clutches, and reconnect them to the path of progress,” he said.
