Substance abuse rings alarm bells in dry Bihar

A young mother from Begusarai district, who saw the number of her followers jumping from 6,000-7,000 to 1.10-lakh within 10 days, she said that she had ruined her life, but vowed to put it on track afresh once free from addiction to raise her child. She also had to close her Instagram account, which had a growing list of followers due to her bold Bhojpuri dialogues and posturing, after she landed in trouble for some of the posts.

“How I got drawn into drug is something I don’t know, as I never wanted to do it. I was into reels and was happy with Instagram, as it also gave me money. But coming in contact with some wrong people, who also exploited me, due to my social media fame, I slipped into the drug trap. I even revolted against my family and ignored my daughter, as I used to get restless without ‘brown sugar pudiya’, sold for ₹200, which my friends used to bring. I used to get violent if not provided when I felt the urge,” she narrated.

She is not an isolated case. Dr Md Amzad Khan of Siwan said that over the past few years, he and his colleagues in the medical community have observed a growing number of young patients — boys and even girls — falling prey to substance abuse due to easy access to cheap sedatives and synthetic drugs, inhalants, cough syrups,ganja, heroine and smack. He said that he also carried a survey in association with psychiatrists Dr Amit Kumar Singh, Dr Santosh Kunar Singh and others in 12 panchayats of Siwan and was stumped by the number of addicts mostly from poor and middle class families, even though alcohol consumption was found low.

“This isn’t a class-specific problem. Drug use cuts across economic strata, affecting children from both well-off and marginalized families. There are many powerful people also struggling with this problem in the family. It transcends education levels and religious boundaries. The common denominator is vulnerability — emotional, social and cultural — but once trapped it becomes a nightmare for the family,” said Khan, who also holds counselling sessions conducted through his NGO.

He said that he has come across heart-wrenching stories of teenagers stealing from their parents, getting involved in petty crimes, and even resorting to violence to feed their addiction. “What is most alarming is the development of a personal habit into a community-level conflict — disputes between two boys over drugs spiralling into violent group clashes. The social cost is unimaginable,” he added.

Forensic psychiatrist and medical superintendent at the Mahavir Senior Citizens’ Hospital, Patna, Dr Nikhil Goel, who is also a resource person for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bihar & Jharkhand region, admitted that the problem was real and required a coordinated effort to check it before it was too late, as it was mostly affecting the adolescents and youth and many a time it was life-threatening and disturbing for the family and society at large.

“What is more alarming is the availability of dangerously adulterated concoctions in the name of high-priced drug, easy access at ₹100-200 per puriya (small paper wraps), parental ignorance or fear of public shame in admitting the problem with their wards and eroding societal pressure, which once acted as a big deterrent. Once addicted, it requires a lot of effort at every level to get out of it even if one wants due to the demands of the body and hence there is a greater probability of relapse. The best thing is to keep youth away from addiction and not criminalise it. It needs proper treatment, care and understanding, as neglect could prove fatal,” he added.

The number of private de-addiction centres that have come up in and around Patna only is an indication of the enormity of the problem. They all have addicts, brought by family members after things got tough for them to handle at home. Another pointer is the growing recovery of substances and other intoxicants, which are being used as an alternative to alcohol in dry Bihar and are said to have infiltrated in the interiors.

NCB seizures

According to statistics of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), it made seizure of 2.24 kg Heroin, 1 kg of Methamphetamine, 02 kg Opium, 3.9 kg charas, 90,000 bottles of CBCS and huge quantity of Ganja in 2024. It also caught a big haul of cocaine in Muzaffarpur and other parts. Other narcotics substances have also been recovered.

However, officials admit that this could just be the tip of the iceberg, as seizures are reported from several agencies and the quantum going undetected could also be big due to the increasing pattern.

“Being one of the No-alcohol states, alongwith unemployment and Poverty, Bihar is vulnerable to drug trade. With respect to the point of consumption, the youth of Bihar is reported to be mainly consuming Ganja, Charas & Heroin. However the shift in trend towards Synthetic drugs and Medicinal drugs (Prescription drugs) cannot be ruled out, as synthetic drugs unlike traditional drugs may be available on all seasons without any limitations such as crop season, rainfall, harvesting etc.,” said a senior NCB official.

He, however, said that though Bihar does not have any permanent market for drugs unlike many developed states, the possibility of a transit point slowly becoming a drug hub/consumption point cannot be ruled out also, if it was not addressed effectively. “There is a noticeable changing trend in Bihar – shift from the traditional drug trafficking of Ganja, Charas and Heroin to Synthetic drugs viz Methamphetamine etc. The seizures of Alprazolam and CBCS by the authorities also confirm the change in trends,” he added.

NCB regional director Abhishek Anand said that the agency’s radar was mostly on multi-state and international drug trafficking rackets with branches extending upto North eastern state and further to Myanmar with respect to Methamphetamine.

“There are multiple instances of drug syndicates whose supply is from Nepal through the porous Indo-Nepal border and from Andhra-Orissa border region for Ganja and Charas. The Opium and Heroin being seized are sourced from Bihar/Jharkhand borders, UP & MP. There are even instances noted of Heroin being prepared in the border areas of East Champaran district,” he added.

State mechanism

The growing drug trafficking scanrio has drawn the attention of the Bihar government also and the state-level Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) by the nodal agency NCB is used for exchange of information and sharing of action plan. NCORD is for ensuring better coordination between Central & State Drug Law Enforcement Agencies and other stake holders in the field of controlling drug trafficking and drug abuse in India. The state is also organizing district level NCORD meetings in every district in hybrid modes, in which Officers of NCB are also a part of. NCB is also working on conducting the joint coordination committee in which sister law enforcement agencies are also part of.

Bihar has also constituted Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) on the directions of union home ministry. It functions under the Economic Offence Unit (EOU) and has coordination with the NCB. NCB is also figuring out the recent changes in trends of drug trafficking and is working with EOU to effectively curb the menace in the state.

EOU ADG NH Khan said that earlier Bihar was mostly the transit route fo narcotics, but now it was disturbing to see it becoming a consumption hub and every effort was being made to check it in coordination with other agencies.

“It is spreading and it is a very dangerous trend. We are working to combat it at multiple levels in coordination with the NCB as well as other agencies. NCORD is in place at the central, state and district levels, while the ANTF has also been constituent on the direction of the Union Home Ministry to check substance use and supply,” he added.

Proliferation

However, despite all the various agencies in place, the reality is that everything ultimately boils down to the district police for local surveillance and that is where it is going the prohibition way. It is readily available due to the demand, but nobody wants to acknowledge it unless one steps into any de-addiction centre in and around Patna to find the truth or meet a traumatised family.

“Just as liquor is available to those who want without being publicly visible, the new trend is of different concoctions of intoxicants, drugs, cough syrup and it is growing as it does not even come under the ambit of prohibition despite being ten times dangerous. It may be available at roadside stalls or jhuggi-jhopdis to remain out of the public glare, but it is spreading,” said a police officer, who did not want to be quoted.

The reports of seizures of intoxicants and drugs from the bordering areas as well as places like Madhubani, Bhojpur, Bhabua, Madhubani, Motihari, Purnea and other parts is a pointer to the dangerous trend. Last year in November, a big haul of costly coacaine was recovered from Muzaffarpur by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) while it was being taken to Delhi. In April, NCB also sized a consignment of heroin in Muzaffarpur, which was also being transported to Delhi. A big haul of heroin was also recovered from Motihari earlier this year, while another consignment of smack was seized from Purnea. SSB had also seized substantial quantity of heroin from Bihar’s Bathnaha in Sitamarhi district.