Growing Heroine Abuse in Kashmir: JK Police constitutes special teams to track possible supply chain from Punjab | KNO

Kashmir News Observer (KNO)

Srinagar, July 08 (KNO) : Jammu and Kashmir police have constituted special teams to find out possible channels of Heroine supply from Punjab state of the country into Kashmir and the drug peddlers involved in the nexus, a top police officer revealed to KNO. The step, according to the police has been taken in the wake media reports that Kashmiri youth were getting hooked to the growing drug abuse especially Heroine, that was possibly coming from Punjab state of the country. In the series of stories carried by the Kashmir News Observer (KNO) on the growing drug abuse in Kashmir, official figures had revealed that over 46000 patients were alone treated at the SMHS hospital for being addicted one or the other drug in 2018 and in the ensuing year, more than 12000 in the Out Door Patients Department (OPD). The doctors treating the patients also revealed that the number of Indoor Patients Department (IPD) had also swelled from 196 in 2014 to 226 in 2018 and the trend continued in the ongoing year, which was a serious concern. A doctor treating the patients at the SMHS hospital told KNO that not all but yes, a major chunk of addicts were found involved in consuming drugs like Heroine. “They were consuming Heroine through intravenous method,” he said. Many addicts, who were counseled and treated, at the SMHS, while speaking to the KNO, disclosed that the Heroine was just a phone call away from them and that their friends were together consuming it by using small insulin syringes initially and later five ml syringes. “Heroin is easily available in Srinagar. We used to call a person, who would give us a packet full of Heroin almost every Sunday at Malkhah area of Srinagar,” said a patient, on the condition of anonymity. Talking to KNO, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar Dr Haseeb Mughal said that police have widened the ambit to track the possible channel of Heroin supply from Punjab State. “We are not sure whether it is coming from Punjab or elsewhere, but we will surely find out where from it is reaching Kashmir. For that special teams have been constituted to track the nexus of drug peddlers and they will be booked under Public Safety Act (PSA), which means jail for two years without trial,” he said. Surprisingly, while as 88 per cent of the drug addicts treated at SMHS hospital were found as males, what was more shocking that 12 per cent were females that include school and college going girls and also the women with some domestic disputes.(KNO)