Amritsar/Ferozepur: Heroin in Punjab that is being sold to drug addicts in the state is of two types while one is called ‘Delhi-Wala-Chitta’ the other is named ‘Pak Border-Wala-Chitta,’ according to police officials and some drug users.
A former drug addict of Serai Amanat Khan village, Gursevak Singh, reveals that ‘Delhi-Wala-Chitta’ costs less but is adulterated with manufactured chemicals, while ‘Pak Border-Wala-Chitta’ is pure and is costly. “While the former is available at Rs 500 per gram, the latter is priced at Rs 1000 to 1500 per gram,” he claims.
Gursevak Singh, who had been using both types of ‘Chitta’ since 1990, depending on their availability, explains the majority of deaths occur due to impure cheap heroin. It proves fatal if consumed in excess. The pure form of ‘Chitta’ gives the craving addict a higher and a prolonged “kick.” Injectable drugs are prepared from a combination of painkillers and cough syrups procured from unscrupulous chemists operating in the countryside, he says.
Gursewak Singh from a border village Serai Amanat Khan says cheap ‘Delhi Wala Chitta’ is pure poison responsible for taking lives of many addicts. Mini-drug mixing units in Delhi get heroine from Punjab and adulterate it to make it 5 times of its original weight. pic.twitter.com/9g4txX1gbc
— Rajinder Taggar (@TaggarRajinder) February 25, 2023
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Swapan Sharma, who has served as SSP, Rural, Amritsar, says over 90 per cent of heroin smuggled into Punjab from Pakistan is “exported” to other states where the consumer base is much larger. Some quantity journeys back to the state after getting mixed with chemicals aimed to bring larger profits to the drug traffickers, Sharma adds.
#Watch: Over 90 per cent of heroin smuggled into Punjab from Pakistan is "exported" to other states where the consumer base is much larger, says Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Swapan Sharma to India Narrative pic.twitter.com/nJUXCUa4gE
— INDIA NARRATIVE (@india_narrative) February 25, 2023
Sources disclosed that once heroin enters Punjab, it is taken to Delhi, where clandestinely operating micro-factories, mainly in Lajpat Nagar, Jagatpuri, Rajendra Nagar etc, mix it with chemicals to increase its weight. The factory workers make small packets of adulterated heroin in varied quantities for retail sale. This finds its way back to Punjab, also to cater to the not-so-affluent category of addicts.
An anti-drug activist Harkanwal Singh of Jalandhar, informed that the cheap form of ‘Delhi-Wala-Chitta’ is in demand in ‘Bastis’ or ‘Jhuggis’ (settlements of poor) located on fringes of big cities like Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Bathinda. Maximum drug-related fatalities are reported from these settlements, he claims.
Also Read: Why Friday is a dry day for drug smugglers on Pakistan border
