Army truck caught with poppy husk in Punjab

Chandigarh, Nov 12 (IANS) The Punjab police Wednesday seized a truck belonging to the Indian Army allegedly loaded with 18 bags of poppy husk, an official said.

The truck seized in Patiala's Rajpura town, around 45 km from here, was being driven by a civilian driver from Madhya Pradesh to Jammu and Kashmir, said the police.

'We stopped the Indian Army truck for scrutiny at a police checkpoint after getting a tip off from our source. On checking, we found 18 bags of poppy husk weighing around seven quintals (in the truck)," Vikram Brar, the station house officer of Rajpura, told IANS.

The driver, Mehboob, a resident of Jabalpur town in Madhya Pradesh, has been arrested, Brar said.

The army has a truck manufacturing unit in Jabalpur and, according to the police, around 40 pick ups were being sent to Jammu and Kashmir.

"The delivery assignment (of the trucks) was given to a private party,' Brar said.

Although the brand new truck has all the markings and registration number of the Indian Army but none of army officials is apparently involved, Brar said.

The accused driver, in his mid 30s, will be produced in a court Thursday.

'There is a possibility of the involvement of some more people in this drug racket and we are expecting to nab some more culprits after the interrogation of the arrested,' said Brar.