Overview
- Thousands joined the Lieutenant Governor’s padyatra to Lal Chowk on Sunday, where he called drug smuggling “silent terrorism,” linked it to funding for militancy, and urged families, teachers and religious leaders to help rescue affected youth.
- Officials reported 481 FIRs and 518 arrests between April 11 and May 2, with 24 properties tied to alleged narco networks attached, about 300 driving licences suspended, five passports cancelled, and 325 vehicles seized, alongside more than 3,000 drug-store inspections and 107 licence suspensions.
- J&K Police said that in the first 15 days of the drive they registered 378 NDPS cases, booked 431 peddlers, seized about 478 kg of narcotics and thousands of psychotropic pills and syrups, and attached movable and immovable assets worth crores after financial probes.
- A new Standard Operating Procedure brings deterrents that go beyond NDPS cases, including cancelling licences and vehicle registrations, recommending passport cancellation, freezing bank accounts, issuing lookout notices, attaching property, and keeping photo galleries of peddlers at police stations.
- After Sunday’s events, a high-level review ordered visible enforcement over the next 78 days, tighter checks on pharmacies and rehab centres, youth engagement through sports, and a rehabilitation push that will monitor people for up to three years after treatment.