Srinagar: A senior minister in the Omar Abdullah-led Jammu and Kashmir government has accused the lieutenant governor’s administration of regional bias in its ongoing campaign against drug abuse in Jammu and Kashmir.Sakina Itoo, who holds the portfolios of health and education departments in the J&K government, said last week that dozens of properties were attached and some houses and commercial properties were demolished in Kashmir.She alleged that no such punitive action has been taken against the alleged drug abusers in Jammu region. The 100-day initiative called ‘Nasha Mukt Abhiyaan’ (drug-free campaign) was launched on April 11 when lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha led a rally from Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu. Sinha has since participated in similar rallies organised at district-level, including in Kashmir.According to an official spokesperson, 616 FIRs have been filed in different police stations across Jammu and Kashmir under the campaign till May 6 while 646 people were arrested in connection with these cases.At least 24 properties including residential houses have been reportedly demolished in the Union territory by the authorities under the campaign. The administration has not released the breakdown of these figures.Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha during a ‘Nasha Mukt Abhiyan’ campaign in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on May 3. Photo: PTI“Are there more drug addicts in Kashmir or Jammu?” asked Itoo, a senior leader of the ruling National Conference. “As health minister I can tell you that there are more drug addicts in Jammu than Kashmir,” she went on to say.Data compiled by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for 2019-2023 suggests that opioids are the most abused drugs (in the 14-75 years age group) in Jammu and Kashmir with 5.4 lakh users, followed by sedatives (1.7 lakh users) and cannabis (1.4 lakh).Per the data, which was tabled by the Union home ministry in the parliament earlier this year, Jammu police district leads in terms of the number of cases filed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, in the Union territory.Jammu division, which comprises ten police districts, is the political stronghold of the Bhartiya Janta Party. The data also shows that Jammu district has been the worst hit by drug abuse in J&K with 320 cases filed under the NDPS Act in 2019 followed by 197 in 2020, 270 in 2021, 296 in 2022 and 366 in 2023. While Udhampur police district in Jammu division recorded the second highest number of NDPS Act cases (98) in 2019, Kashmir’s Anantnag district took over Udhampur with 100 and 183 NDPS cases filed in 2020 and 2021, respectively, followed by Srinagar police district with 169 cases in 2022 and Baramulla with 266 cases in 2023.Jammu’s Reasi police district recorded the third highest number of cases under the NDPS Act in 2019 (90) followed by Srinagar in 2020 with 92 cases. Ramban district, also in Jammu had 102 cases in 2021, Anantnag in 2022 had 148 cases, and the adjoining Kulgam in 2023 had 213 cases. Overall, police in Jammu region filed 776 NDPS Act cases in 2019, 573 in 2020, 765 in 2021, 792 in 2022 and 849 in 2023. In contrast, police in Kashmir valley filed 387 NDPS Act cases in 2019, 545 in 2020, 892 in 2021, 1,017 in 2022, and 1,350 cases in 2023. In five years, 10 police districts in Jammu division filed 3,828 NDPS Act cases, whereas 4,191 such cases were filed in Kashmir valley, suggesting that the two politically and culturally distinct regions of the Union territory have been similarly affected by the menace of drug abuse. There was no publicly available official district-wise data of NDPS cases filed by J&K police for the years 2024 and 2025. The official websites of J&K police and its crime branch which publishes the annual crime report have not yet published these reports. Since the Nasha Mukt campaign started in J&K, more than 14 posts have been shared by Kashmir zone police on its X handle related to the seizures of properties by the district police teams in the valley.Two posts on the handle show police teams of Srinagar and Anantnag districts supervising the demotion squads carried out by the bulldozer. Some photos and videos also show police personnel with dog squads searching residential houses and private properties in connection with the ongoing campaign. Anantnag Police carries out J&K’s largest NDPS attachment: ₹6.5 Cr assets of Bashir Ahmad Mir & family, Doonipora Sangam seized U/S 68-F. 3 houses, Muskan Restaurant, 211M land & Creta JK03H-5758 attached.@JmuKmrPolice @KashmirPolice @DigSkr pic.twitter.com/AdBwW5LuEe— Anantnag Police( اننت ناگ پولیس) (@AnantnagPolice) May 8, 2026In contrast, no demolition posts were shared by the Jammu police division on its X handle. Instead, they shared two posts showing images about the seizure of moveable property including a car.The Jammu police mostly retweeted posts by LG Sinha’s office about the events related to Nasha Mukt campaigns in Jammu, Ramban, Rajouri, Reasi and Doda districts on April 11, 15, 18, 24 and 30, respectively. Minister Itoo said that the “indiscriminate” demolition of residential and commercial properties of the suspected drug abusers in Kashmir “seems aimed at inflicting pain” on Kashmiris. She also sought to raise questions on J&K’s home department over its alleged inability to control the influx of drugs from Pakistan into J&K. The home department is under the LG and it controls J&K police which is in incharge of law and order in the Union territory. Itoo also urged the Sinha-led administration to adopt a reconciliatory approach towards tackling the drug abusers, “If one person is involved or accused of drug abuse, why should we demolish (their) parents’ house or property?”“We are also against drug abuse but such actions send the wrong message that Kashmiris are being singled out,” she added. Upset with her remarks, the opposition BJP has demanded that the chief minister should remove Itoo from the cabinet. “The administration should also widen the scope of the investigation and examine the role and complicity of these regional political parties in the growing drug menace across Jammu and Kashmir”, a BJP leader was quoted as saying to The Telegraph.