Muzaffarnagar: Authorities have apprehended three individuals for allegedly distributing drugs along the Kanwar Yatra route in this area, and they have confiscated illegal substances from them, officials reported on Monday.

Additionally, Rs 19,450 in cash was seized from the trio during their arrest in the Civil Lines area on Sunday evening, according to officials.

Circle Officer Raju Kumar Sab stated that a case has been filed against Vaibhav, Gulshan Kumar, and Krishan Kumar under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

On Sunday, thousands of kanwariyas (devotees of Lord Shiva), returning from Haridwar in Uttarakhand with Gangajal, were welcomed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who showered them with flowers from a helicopter in Muzaffarnagar.

Officials have enforced stringent security protocols along the Kanwar Yatra routes. The Yatra is set to conclude on July 23, when the pilgrims will head home after offering the sacred water from the Ganges at Shiva temples along their journey.

While welcoming the pilgrims, Adityanath asserted that certain individuals were attempting to tarnish the Kanwar Yatra’s reputation on social media and called on every ‘Kanwar Sangh’ to identify and expose such troublemakers.