Police in Himachal seek strict legal deterrence to combat smuggling of 'chitta' in 'intermediate quantity' 

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh Police has sought stringent provisions for stricter legal deterrence to stop the smuggling of drugs especially 'chitta' in "intermediate quantity" in the state.

The illicit trade of 'chitta' (adulterated heroin) has increased manifold in the state recently, with the police seizing 11.5 kilograms of the banned drug and arresting 1,164 people in 738 cases last year.

This year, till April 30, 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 grams and the commercial quantity is 250 grams.

The majority of chitta is smuggled in consumable or intermediate quantities (5-250 grams) 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 (Home) of the Himachal Pradesh government, Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu had asked for stringent punishment and making the seizure of the "intermediate quantity" of chitta non-bailable.

The drug smugglers are taking advantage of the huge gap of 245 grams in consumable and commercial quantities and in the majority of cases (95 per cent), chitta is smuggled in consumable or intermediate quantities, Kundu told PTI.

In the communication, the police chief had advocated for death punishment or life imprisonment for manufacturers, sellers, transporters and retailers and others associated with psychotropic substances or synthetic drugs.

He stressed rigorous imprisonment of not less than two years which may extend to five years in cases of recovery for small quantities, besides fine and rigorous imprisonment of not less than 10 years which may be extended to 20 years in case of seizure of commercial quantity and five years imprisonment for those facilitating the smuggling of drugs.

The DGP said the offences related to the trafficking of psychotropic substances/ synthetic drugs should be made non-bailable irrespective of the quantity of the contraband and bail should not be granted to repeat offenders.

Financial investigations and confiscation of proceeds of crime are the need of the hour and harbouring and concealing drug peddlers should also lead to five years imprisonment, according to the communication.

In 2018, the then BJP government passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) bill recommending the Union government to make all offences under the NDPS Act non-bailable.

Chitta (diacetylmorphine), a semi-synthetic opioid, mainly derived from heroin, is highly dangerous and lethal as the consumption increases with the passage of time and an overdose could even result in death, former director of State Forensic Science Laboratory Arun Sharma said.