In a worrying sign, Himachal Pradesh, which has been reeling under the rising drug menace, has reported the second highest crime rate in the country of drug trafficking related cases, two years in a row.
As per the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) report for 2024, the state has recorded a significant 17.2 cases per lakh population across the country in cases of possession of drugs for trafficking. The highest crime rate in drug trafficking has been reported in Punjab, where 19.6 cases per lakh population have been reported in the same year.
In 2023 too, Himachal was ranked second for reporting second highest offences of drug trafficking.
Data in the NCRB report revealed that the state in 2024 had witnessed a total of 1,715 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, making it 22.8 cases per lakh population. As a result, the state stands fourth in the country in total number of NDPS Act cases per lakh population, only behind Keralam, Punjab and Mizoram, which have reported 75.5, 29 and 27.2 per lakh cases, respectively.
The national average of cases registered under the NDPS Act stands 7.8 per lakh population.
Data further revealed that out of this, 1,292 cases were of possession of drugs for trafficking. Also, out of the total, as many as 423 cases, which were registered under the NDPS act, were of possession of drugs for personal consumption.
Apart from this, Himachal Pradesh also reported 4,627 cases under liquor and narcotic drugs-related Act. The state has reported 61.5 cases per lakh population under these offences, making it the ninth highest in the country.
