Shimla, Aug 8
Shimla Police have arrested seven people in three separate narcotics cases as part of an intensified crackdown on drug trafficking, with investigations focusing on interstate supply chains and the identification of both suppliers and distributors.
In the first case, registered at Kumarsain police station on July 30 under Sections 15 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, police recovered around five kilograms of opium poppy straw from the trunk of a taxi during a checking operation in the Sainj area. Pinku Ram, 42, of Kumarsain, was arrested at the spot.
Police said technical evidence and investigation of backward linkages subsequently led to the identification of Bittu Thakur, 31, of Ani in Kullu district, as an alleged supplier. He was arrested under Section 29 of the NDPS Act and sent to judicial custody.
In another case registered at Dhali police station on August 3 under Sections 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act, police recovered around eight grams of heroin, commonly known as chitta, from two accused. Further investigation allegedly established the involvement of 21-year-old Anuj Sarkaik of Kumarsain. He was arrested on August 4 and remanded to judicial custody at Kaithu jail.
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Police have also claimed to have dismantled an interstate drug network operating in the Rohru area. In Case No. 31/2026, Pinku Ram and Sunil Puharta of Rohru were initially arrested with 53 grams of heroin. Investigation of digital evidence, bank accounts and backward linkages led police to alleged main suppliers Salman Haider of Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, and Thomas Masih, 29, of Gurdaspur, Punjab. Forward-linkage investigation subsequently resulted in the arrest of Manoj Thakur alias Sunny, 33, of Rohru.
Police said five accused have been arrested in the Rohru case. With Pinku Ram being common to the Kumarsain and Rohru cases, the three cases account for seven distinct persons arrested.
Separately, an Additional District and Sessions Court in Shimla on August 7 sentenced Ranveer Singh of Sundernagar, Mandi, to two years’ rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 25,000 fine in an NDPS case involving seven grams of heroin.
The latest actions underline Shimla Police’s focus on tracing the supply chain rather than limiting investigations to street-level possession cases.
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