In a first, police in south Kashmir have published names and pictures of alleged drug peddlers. Called “Rogue Gallery – NDPS accused”, the police station-wise list includes the names of alleged drug peddlers along with their photographs and the cases in which they are accused. The “rogue galleries” come at a time when police have intensified their crackdown on drug trafficking amid a 100-day “Nasha Mukht (drug-free) Jammu and Kashmir” campaign.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has urged citizens to treat the campaign as a “shared war against narcotics”, asserting that “together, we must win this battle”. In Kulgam, police have published “rogue galleries” for eight police stations in the district. The galleries listed 184 people with their names, photos and the FIRs they are involved in under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The shortest of the lists came from Manzgam police station, which listed just six “rogue” peddlers. The Qaimoh police station had the longest list, with 59 names. “As part of the intensified drive against drug abuse under the three Nasha Mukht Jammu & Kashmir Abhiyaan, J&K Police in Kulgam, on the directions of SSP Kulgam Anayat Ali Chowdhary, have displayed ‘Rogue Galleries’ within police station premises displaying photographs of identified drug peddlers across Kulgam district,” police said in an official statement.