2 Nepalese women held for trying to smuggle 15 kg charas to Kullu

Two Nepalese women were arrested on Saturday for allegedly trying to smuggle 15 kg charas from Nepal to the Parvati valley in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, police said.

The contraband was to be sold at tourist spot Kasol, situated along the banks of the river Parvati, they said.

The accused were identified as Shreya Thapa (26) and Vishnu Kala (32), residents of Kapilvastu and Lumbini respectively, Kullu Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said.

A team of Kullu police caught them after a tip off at Punjabi Chulha in Manikaran on Saturday around 1:45 am, he added.

The officer said the Nepali women had draped charas around their bodies in an effort to dodge the police. During their search in front of a lady gazetted officer, Thapa was found hiding 10.190 kg charas whereas Kala 5.212 kg, he added.

The SP said that a team of Manikaran police post led by its in-charge Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Bhoop Singh had been working for some time to arrest the smugglers.

The accused started from Haridwar on Friday and reached Bhuntar in the night. They then hired a taxi to Kullu in the early hours of Saturday. The police team intercepted their vehicle and seized the charas during nakabandi at Punjabi Chulha in Manikaran, he added.

The taxi driver was not found involved in the smuggling, he added.

A case under sections 20 and 25 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered at the Sadar police station and further investigation is underway, he added.