Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 23: Police today said they unearthed and destroyed illegal opium poppy cultivation in Anantnag and Pulwama districts and registered cases under the NDPS Act.
In Anantnag district, Police Station Kokernag received information regarding illegal cultivation of opium poppy in vegetable fields at Senzi Gadool, officials said.
Acting on the information, police registered FIR No. 56/2026 under Sections 8/18 of the NDPS Act and launched an investigation.
During investigation, a joint team comprising police officials, the Executive Magistrate Gadool and Agriculture Department officials from Vailoo visited the site and found illegal cultivation of opium poppy in a vegetable field, officials added.
Samples of the crop were collected for forensic examination while the entire cultivation was destroyed on the spot in the presence of the Executive Magistrate, they said.
In a similar action in Pulwama district, police detected illegal poppy cultivation in Gangoo area and registered a case under the NDPS Act.
A police party from Police Station Pulwama found that Tanveer Hussain Malik, son of Shabir Hussain Malik and a resident of Gangoo Malikpora, had allegedly cultivated poppy plants on his land at Hanjikhalo Gangoo, officials said.
Following the detection, FIR No. 97/2026 under Sections 8/18 of the NDPS Act was registered and investigation initiated, they added.
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