Increasing cases of addiction; substance not covered under Narcotics Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act

The Pune police are struggling to cope with increasing cases of addiction to ‘whitener’— a white fluid containing organic solvents, used to erase errors in handwritten, printed papers — among minors and teenagers in the city. As the substance is not covered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the police are finding it difficult to tackle this menace.

The police have found that the addiction to whitener has spread among juvenile criminals and children from slums and streets. Children pour whitener on a kerchief and use it as an inhaler, which gives them a high for four to 10 hours. A 15 ml bottle of whitener along with a diluter of the same quantity costs around Rs 25-30.

Three minor boys recently held by Wanavdi police for allegedly gangraping and assaulting a minor girl at Ramtekdi slums, were found to be addicted to whitener.

Senior police officers discussed the issue in a meeting held recently. “It is a matter of concern that a lot of minors are getting addicted to whitener, which is a stationery product easily available in the market,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Anti-Narcotics Cell) Rajendra Dahale.

“We have sought the opinion of our team of legal experts on the issue. We would soon come out with a strategy to address the problem,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Wanavdi police issued letters to several shop-owners in its jurisdiction asking them to sell a whitener only to students or office-goers.

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