Fearing action, Rohti Channa drug peddlers go into hiding

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Nabha, July 13 

A state of fear gripped drug peddlers at Rohti Channa village in the subdivision due to the constant watch being kept on them by the police, thus forcing most of the families to shift to an undisclosed destination.

As the police have set up a naka just outside the village located on Nabha-Bhadson Road, it became difficult for these drug traders to sell the narcotics to their regular customers. 

Earlier, they would sell the drugs to their customers without the fear of the police; despite the fact a police chowki was located very close to the village on the Rohti bridge. The police have set up the naka after the state had witnessed deaths of youngsters due to over doze of drugs in various parts. There were about 35 to 40 families selling drugs and now most of them gone underground. 

The village is infamous for drugs. People from every nook and corner of state would come here to purchase the narcotics. Earlier, the people used to sell poppy husk and opium, but as the prices of these drugs were very low the smugglers were earning less. Now, they had started selling smack, heroin and ganja. However, the youngsters of these families had also started taking the drugs and with the passage of time every member of the family, including women and children, started selling the narcotics to the people. 

SDM Jashanpreet Kaur Gill said a special campaign had been started by the Punjab Government to wipe out drug trade from the state and to save the people, especially the youth. She said the administration would help those drug paddlers who want to dissociation themselves from this illegal trade