After Himachal Pradesh cops get strict, hash from the Kashmir Valley is making up for the dip in supply across the country
After Himachal Pradesh cops get strict, hash from the Kashmir Valley is making up for the dip in supply across the country
Regular drug users will vouch that charas grown in the fields of Manali is the best in the business.
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But after stringent law enforcement agencies in Himachal Pradesh virtually snuffed out all supply routes, Kashmiri charas has taken its place.
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Dr Yusuf Merchant, who runs a drug rehabilitation centre in Kalyan, said in the last few months, charas supply from Manali had been restricted and that from Kashmir was being smuggled into metro cities.
The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police last month seized over 100 kg of Kashmiri charas in separate raids and arrested four people.
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Strict HP cops
Additional Director General I D Bhandari (Intelligence & CID), Himachal Police, admitted that they had tightened the noose on drug traffickers, including addicts, and, hence, Kashmir could be the new supply route.
For the first time ever, satellite images of four districts in Manali known to be growing the drug have been used by the CID and the Intelligence Department of the Himachal police to throttle further attempts to grow and cultivate charas.
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Bhandari confirmed the move and said they had already circulated the satellite images to concerned district superintendents of police to take further action with the assistance of Forest and Revenue officials.
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Since most of the charas cultivation happens in mountainous areas, it was difficult to destroy the cultivation completely.
And registering cases even if a small quantity of banned substance is found on a person has helped matters.
Charas in India
Charas has been used across the Indian sub-continent for its medicinal properties for thousands of years and
was sold in government shops (along with opium) in the early years of the British Empire.
Consumption or cultivation of charas was made illegal in the 1980s and draconian sentences were introduced.
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Even possession had a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. But charas is still popular in India, especially amongst sadhus and fakirs.
The Naga Sadhus, Aghoris and Tantric Bhairav sects are said to smoke it heavily.
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