Setback to drug mafia, Rs 6-cr properties frozen in Himachal
Rajiv Mahajan
NURPUR, OCTOBER 17
The drug mafia flourishing in the inter-state border areas of Indora and Nurpur subdivisions of Kangra district suffered a major setback when the designated NDPS court-cum-competent authority, Delhi, confirmed the freezing order of properties worth Rs 5.97 crore prepared by the Damtal police. The frozen properties will be seized by the police after completion of the requisite formalities.
The Damtal police detected commercial quantities of synthetic drugs from Dharminder, alias Govinda of Chhanni-Beli, one of the kingpins of drug trafficking. The police conducted in-depth investigations into his movable and immovable properties, along with those of his family members and relatives, and prepared a property freezing order under Section 68 of the NDPS Act.
The order, comprising details of luxury vehicles, bank accounts, palatial houses, buildings and lands of the accused, had been submitted to the designated court a few months ago. As per information, the order had been prepared against the accused Govinda, his mother Raj Kumari and his relatives Sheranand and Mangat Ram and their families.
Kangra SP Khushal Sharma told The Tribune today that the NDPS court-cum-competent authority, Delhi, had given adequate opportunities to the alleged drug peddlers to disclose (prove) their source of income as they had accumulated property worth crores of rupees but they failed to do so.
“The court has confirmed the property freezing order prepared by the Kangra police after eight hearings. The police would now seize the frozen property accumulated by the accused through drug trafficking,” he said.
He said the state police had formulated a strategy to intensify financial investigations against drug peddlers and attach their properties so that their financial backbone could be broken and the inter-state drug supply chain snapped.
Significantly, this is the second such property freezing order confirmed by the designated NDPS court. Earlier, a few months ago the freezing order for accumulating property worth Rs 1 crore had been prepared against Lavjeet Singh and his mother Bachni Devi of Bhadroya by Damtal police station which was confirmed by the court.
Failed to reveal source
Kangra SP Khushal Sharma said the NDPS court-cum-competent authority, Delhi, had given adequate opportunities to the alleged drug peddlers to disclose (prove) their source of income but they failed to do so.
