A police party of police station Qazigund during patrolling noticed two persons roaming in suspicious condition carrying luggage bags and were intercepted.

Police said after noticing the police party, both tried to flee the spot but were chased and apprehended tactfully.

During the checking of their luggage bags, 19 kg of poppy straw-like contraband substances were recovered from them.

The duo was identified as Balwinder Singh, a resident of Shairiwala Ludhiana, Punjab, and Harvinder Singh, of Walipor Khurad Ludhiana, Punjab.

A case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered at police station Qazigund, and an investigation has been taken up, police added.

Police have urged the masses to, if they witness drug peddling or any other crime anywhere near, contact the nearest police establishment or dial 112 to curb the menace of drugs in society. (UNI)

SRINAGAR: Three persons were injured after they were fired upon by unknown gunmen in Ramgarh area of Samba district.

Official told the news agency, Kashmir Scroll that today at about 0400 hrs 03 persons namely Sunil Kumar (age 23 years) S/o Amar Nath , Sunil Kumar (age 25 years) S/o Bhagwan Dass both R/o Rangoor Camp, PS Ramgarh and Sunil Kumar (30 yrs) s/o Surjeet Singh r/o Gurunanak pura Amritsar Punjab were injured due to gun shots by unknown persons near Rangoor adda PS Ramgarh.

They said that all three are admitted in GMC Jammu for treatment. They added thar it has been learnt that that there is old rivalry between some local people of village-Rangoor Camp Ramgarh and some Punjab based persons. A group of persons belonging to Punjab had come to Rangoor camp on vehicle bearing no : CH01BW8889 and they fired a few rounds on some locals of village Rangoor Camp in which three persons got injured.

SRINAGAR: In a bid to stop the smuggling of drugs from outside states to Jammu and Kashmir, authorities have directed the Drug Control Department to set up surprise checkpoints at Lakhanpur.

   Lakhanpur town falls in Kathua district and is the entrance to Jammu and Kashmir from Punjab and the rest of India.

   Muhammad Iqbal Palla, Deputy Drugs Controller Jammu said that Kathua is a sensitive district and there remains an apprehension of the influx of habit-forming substances through a clandestine manner from neighboring states.

    In order to stop the illegal entry of drugs to Jammu and Kashmir drug control officials have been asked to lay down surprise nakkas at Lakhanpur for random checks of Jammu-Kashmir-bound Consignments of Pharmaceutical Preparations.

  Police in past have arrested dozens of drug dealers and confiscated big consignments at Lakhanpur check-point. Most of the arrested drug dealers are non-locals. [KNT]

SRINAGAR: A youth from North Kashmir’s Kupwara district has gone missing from Ludhiana city of the northern Indian state of Punjab.
 
  Firdous Ahmed Peer, a resident of the Muqam Dardpora Kralpora area of Kupwara went missing on 17 February this year and since then his whereabouts is unknown to his family.
 
  The family members including the mother and the sister of the missing youth emerged in Press Enclave Srinagar to attract the attention of the media towards the matter.
 
 “He was working in a hotel at Ludhiana where he had gone there along with a friend from Anantnag. The hotel authorities informed us that Firdous is untraceable since 17 February,” one of the relatives told the news agency Kashmir News Trust.
   
Another relative said that police in Ludhiana don’t take the issue seriously. “We repeatedly visited the police station in Ludhiana but the men in uniform are not giving serious heed and no efforts are being made to locate our missing member,” he said.
 
The protesting family appealed to the Jammu Kashmir Police and Kupwara district administration to take up the issue with the Punjab Police. (KNT)