Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Nov 13 :
A selection-grade constable of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has been arrested with “heroin-like substance” and cash by the police inside the premises of Government Medical College Jammu, a police spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The accused identified as Mohd Mukhtiyar, son of Shah Mohd Mukhtiyar, originally a resident of Geloti in Udhampur district, and currently residing in Jammu’s Rakh Raipura area, Beli Charana, was arrested by the Jammu Police near the mortuary of GMC Jammu during an anti-drug operation, the spokesperson said. A heroin-like substance weighing approximately 15 grams and Rs 9000 cash were recovered from the possession of the accused as per police.
Police said that on November 12, they received reliable inputs that the constable was allegedly involved in narcotics sales within the premises of the Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu. He was reportedly spotted on a Bullet motorcycle with the registration number JK02 BW 1950 as per the police spokesperson.
Acting on the tip-off, GMC Police Post officials, accompanied by an executive magistrate, initiated a search operation and apprehended Mukhtiyar near the mortuary at GMC and, upon searching him, recovered the narcotics and cash from his possession.
A case has been registered under FIR No. 155/2024 at Police Station Bakshi Nagar, and investigations are ongoing.
Constable Mukhtiyar, who was serving with the Armed Police 12th Battalion in Zewan, Srinagar, has been suspended with immediate effect. Allegations suggest he may be linked to a drug syndicate targeting local youth, with drugs supplied across Jammu, leading to numerous overdoses and fatalities, police said.
This arrest marks the third FIR filed this week as part of the ‘Zero Tolerance Policy’ against drug peddling, initiated by SDPO City West Jammu, Dr Satish Bhardwaj, who recently received the Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation. Just days earlier, on November 6, another selection-grade constable, Perwaiz Iqbal, along with his two wives, was arrested in a drugs case. Thirty-three grams of heroin were recovered in FIR No. 128/2024 at Janipur Police Station. Perwaiz Iqbal was posted with the Crime Branch (NAFIS), Jammu, police said.
Police said that officers are closely overseeing the investigations, aiming to dismantle the local drug syndicate and identify other collaborators. A financial probe is also in progress to identify and seize assets acquired through drug-related profits.
The arrests of Constable Mukhtiyar and Constable Iqbal underscore Jammu Police’s commitment to protecting the region’s youth from drug abuse, Police said in the press statement.
The arrest of the police constable inside the GMC Jammu premises comes close on the heels of an about the sophisticated modus operandi adopted by a drug peddler, a class 12 student in dispensing drugs. The peddler arrested by the police on Tuesday, used hi-end drone and encrypted apps to dodge police while supplying drugs to the clients.
