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Woman, daughter-in-law arrested for drug peddling near Nurpur in Himachal Pradesh

The Himachal Pradesh police seized 17.91 grams of heroin and packaging material used for distribution from their house during a raid.

(Apprehended woman Champa, her daughter-in-law Sakshi (second and third in sitting position from right) in police custody immediate after their arrest at their house at Chhanni village in district Kangra

The Himachal Pradesh Police Wednesday arrested a woman and her daughter-in-law for alleged drug peddling from their home in the Chhanni village in Indora in the Nurpur police district. The police seized 17.91 grams of heroin from their possession. The arrested have been identified as Champa, 56, and Sakshi, 29. The police said the role of a male family member is currently under investigation.

A police officer said, “The women were apprehended based on secret information regarding drug peddling in Chhanni, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Damtal police station. A raid was conducted at the house of the two women suspects. Heroin was found in their possession. We were also informed that one of the women had been previously involved in drug peddling. The investigation is ongoing.”

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Sources said additional material, including foil paper used for packing heroin for supply to people with drug addiction, was also recovered from the house. A decoy customer was reportedly used to confirm the presence of narcotics at the location. A case has been registered under sections 21 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at the Damtal police station.

Himachal Pradesh has been grappling with a persistent drug menace, particularly involving the peddling of heroin, locally known as chitta. On January 11 this year, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu revealed that the state has witnessed a 340 per cent increase in NDPS Act cases over the last 13 years, from 2012 to 2025. He also noted that the proportion of heroin-related cases doubled, from 29 per cent in 2019 to 50 per cent in 2023.

Speaking virtually at a regional conference on drug trafficking and national security in Delhi recently, CM Sukhu said the Himachal Pradesh Police had confiscated properties of drug peddlers worth Rs 16 crore in the past three years, including property worth Rs 9 crore seized in 2024 alone.

Saurabh Parashar

Saurabh Parashar is a journalist with The Indian Express, where he primarily covers developments in Himachal Pradesh. He has been associated with The Indian Express since 2017 and has earlier worked with The Times of India. He has 17 year + experience in the field of print journalism. An alumnus of Government College for Men, Sector 11, (Panjab University), Chandigarh, Saurabh holds a Diploma in Journalism from Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Chandigarh. He pursued his Master’s in Mass Communication from Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar. In addition, he completed his law degree from Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla. ... Read More

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