Srinagar, Mar 26 (KNO): Pulwama district court on Tuesday handed down a stringent punishment to a notorious drug smuggler, Abdul Hamid Bhat, a resident of Lelhar Kakapora.
Bhat has been sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh for his involvement in drug trafficking.
The verdict was delivered by the Principal Sessions Judge of Pulwama, Naseer Ahmed Dar. Bhat was apprehended with a substantial quantity of narcotics, including 104 kg of ganja and 1.2 kg of hashish, seized from his residence.
According to the court's order, a copy of which lies with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the failure to pay the fine will result in an additional three-month imprisonment for the convict. However, the period of custody already served by Bhat will be taken into account.
In justifying the severity of the sentence, the court highlighted the detrimental impact of drug abuse on society, particularly among the youth. It emphasized that while a murderer may be responsible for the loss of a few lives, drug abuse poses a continuous threat, claiming numerous lives daily.
The case against Bhat stemmed from an incident on October 7, 2018, when the Kakapora police station received intelligence regarding the storage of a substantial quantity of narcotics at Bhat's residence in Lelhar Kakapora. Subsequently, a police team raided the premises and arrested Bhat, confiscating the significant haul of drugs—(KNO)