New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, March 2 said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government is unsparing in punishing drug traffickers and that the central government pledges to continue combating the drug menace to build a drug-free Bharat, a release said.
In a post on X, Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government pledges to continue combating the drug menace with ruthless and meticulous investigations to build a drug-free Bharat.
Home Minister said that as a result of a foolproof investigation with a bottom-to-top and top-to-bottom strategy, 29 drug traffickers have been convicted by the court in 12 different cases across India.
As per the release, the success is a testament to the ‘Bottom to Top’ and ‘Top to Bottom’ approach adopted under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership and the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
In pursuit of the Modi government’s zero-tolerance policy against drugs, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has achieved this success.
The 12 cases are from Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Cochin, Dehradun, Delhi, Indore, Kolkata, Jharkhand and Lucknow. These cases involve large seizures of narcotics such as Charas, Ganja, Opium, and Heroin, with severe sentences handed down to the accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
In the Ahmedabad Zone, in an operation in 2019, NCB Ahmedabad seized 23.859 kg of Charas from Mohd Rizwan and Mohd Jishan’s possession at Sabarmati Railway Station. A third accused, Sahidul Rehman, was also arrested during the investigation. On 29.01.2025, the City Civil and Sessions Court, Ahmedabad, convicted all three and sentenced them to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh each.
In Bhopal Zone (Mandsaur), in July 2022, NCB Mandsaur intercepted two vehicles and seized 123.080 kg of Ganja. Four individuals–Shivam Singh, Sant Kumar Yadav, Balmukund Mishra, and Uttam Singh–were arrested in connection with the trafficking. The Special NDPS Court of Shahdol convicted the accused, sentencing them to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2 lakh each on February 24, 2025.
In a joint operation by NCB Chandigarh, a parcel containing 438 grams of opium was intercepted at DHL Express, Ludhiana, and linked to the accused Nasib Singh and Gobind Singh. Both were convicted by the Special Court, Ludhiana, on January 31, 25, and sentenced to 3 years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000. In another case, Bhim Lama was arrested in Chandigarh on December 30, 2021, with 390 grams of Charas and was convicted on January 8, 2025, for 6 months of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000.
In 2021, NCB Cochin intercepted Sharon Chigwaza, a Zimbabwean national, with 2.910 kg of Heroin at Cochin International Airport. She was sentenced to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 3,00,000 by the Ernakulam Court on January 29, 2025. NCB Dehradun arrested Naman Bansal in 2018 with 450 grams of Charas.
His co-accused, Ashutosh Uniyal, was also arrested. Both were convicted by the NDPS Court, Dehradun, with Naman Bansal sentenced to 1 year of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 on January 18, 2025.
On March 19, 2021, NCB Delhi seized 1.950 kg of Charas from the accused Sahi Ram and Satywan @ Pandit. Both were convicted by the NDPS Court in Jind (Haryana) on January 10, 2025, with a sentence of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each.
In February 2021, NCB Hyderabad seized 681.8 kg of Ganja from vehicles on the Nehru Outer Ring Road. Eight accused were arrested, and the Additional District and Sessions Court, Ranga Reddy, convicted them on 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each.
NCB Indore seized 152.665 kg of Ganja in September 2021 from a truck in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni. The accused–Mahendra Singh Yadav, Sohail Daud Khan Pathan, Suresh Gupta, and Ram Babu Yadav–were convicted and sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on February 22, 2025.
In 2020, NCB Kolkata seized 1301 kg of Ganja from a vehicle near Plassey. The accused, Shajahan Tarafdar, was convicted on February 21, 2025 and sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
In separate cases in 2022 and 2024, NCB Lucknow seized 3.1 kg of Charas and 8 kg of Opium. The accused in both cases–Dashrath and Dheeraj Kr. Dangi–were convicted and sentenced to 15 years and 11 years of rigorous imprisonment, respectively, along with fines.
These convictions reflect the unwavering commitment of the NCB in its efforts to curb drug trafficking and ensure strict enforcement of the NDPS Act.
The NCB operates under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and is working towards realizing the vision of a “Nasha Mukt Bharat” by 2047, as outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The NCB continues to encourage citizens to provide information related to drug trafficking confidentially through the MANAS Helpline Number 1933. (With inputs from ANI).
