Ellenabad bypoll: To stop inflow of liquor, drugs, security beefed up at borders

Deepender Deswal

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, October 19

The police and securities agencies are on alert regarding the attempts to influence the electorate with drugs and liquor in the Ellenabad byelection.

18 additional checkpoints set up

• Police sources informed that they had set up 18 additional checkpoints (nakas) in addition to the 16 regular checkpoints along the Rajasthan border, adjoining the entire stretch of the Ellenabad Assembly segment
• A perusal of the records of the Ellenabad and Nathusari Chopta police stations revealed that almost half of the criminal cases registered here in the last couple of weeks are related to the Punjab Excise Act and the NDPS Act

The police of three states including Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan held a meeting to tighten the vigil on the borders to restrict the movement of smugglers involved in drug trafficking in the district. Police sources informed that they have set up 18 additional checkpoints (nakas) in addition to the 16 regular checkpoints along the Rajasthan border adjoining the entire stretch of the Ellenabad Assembly segment.

The sources said that the region is known as a problematic zone due to high drug addiction and illicit liquor smuggling. As electioneering has picked up, the use of drugs and liquor cannot be ruled out in influencing voters.

A perusal of the records of Ellenabad and Nathusari Chopta police stations, which are part of the Ellenabad Assembly segment, revealed that almost half of the criminal cases registered here in last couple of weeks are related to the Punjab Excise Act, 1914 (Haryana Amendment Bill), 2020 and the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985.

A police official said that smuggling of drugs is prevalent in the region due to high demand among addicts. “Narcotics, including poppy husk, ‘chitta’, smack, ‘bhukki’ are brought from Rajasthan and Punjab areas. Besides, there is the notorious practice of hooch in the region as some elements are involved in manufacture and sale of hooch,” the official said, adding that around 15 cases had been registered in less than a month under these two Acts at these two police stations.

Meanwhile, a joint meeting of Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab Police was held yesterday in Sirsa district. Sirsa SP Arpit Jain, Hanumangarh SP Preeti Jain Bathinda SP Major Singh, Mansa SP Sandeep Garg and the SHOs of the five police stations which have their area of operations in the Ellenabad Assembly constituency were present at the meeting.

SP Arpit Jain said that every vehicle and person passing through police checkpoints should be checked. A close watch on suspicious people has to be kept. “Police officers of all the three states should cooperate in order to conduct the Ellenabad byelection in a fair and free manner,” he added.