Four students of premier Delhi-NCR-based institutions — Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Amity University — have been arrested by the NCB as part of a major New Year’s eve crackdown against drugs rackets. The agency, at the end of a three-day long operation that started on December 28, said it has also seized 1.14 kg of charas (cannabis) and three lSD (lysergic acid Diethylamide) blot papers that were supposed to be supplied to the party circuit of students in and around the DU’s North Campus and other similar locations for New Year celebrations.

The Delhi Zonal unit of the NCB identified the four, arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), as students of reputed academic institutions. Two are from the Hindu College and one student each from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the Amity University. “Aniruddh Mathur (22), Tenzin Phunchog (23) and Sam Mallick (21) are all abusers of charas and used to get it from Gaurav Kumar (22).

“They have also informed that abuse of drugs is rampant in the Delhi University campus area. They have given information about drug peddlers and others involved in the racket which is further being verified,” NCB Deputy Director General (North) SK Jha said.

Kumar, a BA Economics (Hons) student of the Hindu College, was named as the kingpin of the racket by the NCB, which added that the charas was being allegedly sourced by these students from Himachal Pradesh.

The NCB claimed that the students were both addicts and suppliers of these drugs.

Calling the operation as one of the major crackdowns against drugs in Delhi colleges in the recent past, NCB Director General Rina Mitra said that the agency is committed to check the abuse of narcotics among students as part of its larger mandate to eradicate the menace.

NCB officials said they smelled the rat after being tipped-off that lSD blot papers were being couriered from Jaipur to Delhi, allegedly by Kumar with help from Mallick.

Interrogation of the four students revealed, the NCB said that Kumar was into drug peddling in and around the North Campus area.

“He procures the charas from a man, Neelchand, of Himachal Pradesh and sells them to students and others in the North Campus area,” it said.

Neelchand, it said, is a kingpin of drug trafficking racketand was already wanted in a case of NCB, Delhi.

While Phunchog is studying Msc (Physics) from the Hindu College, Mathur is a MBA (hospitality management) student at Amity and Malick is pursuing MA (Philosophy) from the JNU.