Shimla, Feb 21:
In one of the toughest crackdowns on the drug trade in recent years, the Himachal Pradesh Police have detained 96 habitual and organised drug traffickers under stringent provisions of the PIT-NDPS Act, signalling an all-out assault on the chitta menace in the hill state.
The statewide operation is part of the Anti-Chitta Jan Andolan launched on November 15, 2025, by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, with the declared goal of making Himachal Pradesh drug-free.
Police sources said eight notorious traffickers were preventively detained in the latest phase of the operation. Of these, five were picked up from Shimla district, while one each was detained from Dehra, Nurpur and Una.
The action followed a carefully coordinated, intelligence-driven plan executed simultaneously across districts to smash organised supply chains.
A police spokesperson said 65 traffickers were detained till December 2025, and 31 more have been taken into custody in 2026 so far, taking the total to 96 offenders booked under tough preventive detention laws.
Authorities have also launched a financial probe into the movable and immovable assets of the detained traffickers.
Any property found to have been acquired through proceeds of drug trafficking will be seized as per law, in a bid to cripple the economic backbone of the narcotics network.
“This operation reflects the state’s zero-tolerance policy against organised drug crime,” the spokesperson said, adding that police will continue to dismantle trafficking networks by targeting their money channels and supply systems. “Our objective is clear — a safe, healthy and drug-free future for the youth.”
Reiterating the Chief Minister’s appeal, police urged citizens, especially young people, to share any information related to chitta or other narcotic substances by dialing 112 or contacting the nearest police station, assuring that informants’ identities will be kept strictly confidential.
