Built on panchayat land, house of drug peddlers bulldozed

A house belonging to a notorious family involved in drug peddling and headed by Balwant Singh and Kulvir Kaur of Narangwal Kalan village of Ludhiana district, who are facing six cases, was demolished during a joint operation conducted under the supervision of police personnel led by Ludhiana (Rural) SSP Ankur Gupta and duty magistrate Sandeep Kumar on Wednesday.

The police under the supervision of DSP Inderjit Singh Boparai and DSP Varinder Khosa gave the security cover to civil body personnel during the operation in which a bulldozer demolished major parts of the house illegally constructed on panchayat land meant for a village pond. The property was formally handed over to the village panchayat on the spot.

The Punjab Government had earlier assured the Punjab and Haryana High Court that due process of law would be followed before initiating coercive steps, including demolition of immovable property, against the accused in drug peddling cases. An assurance had been given in response to a notice received from the court with regard to the matter.

Investigation further revealed that a case running in the court of the Collector-cum-District Development Panchayat Officer, Ludhiana, was decided in favour of the panchayat over a month ago and the administration had initiated a process for taking possession of the property in question.

The SSP said that Balwant Singh and his wife Kulvir Kaur were facing three cases each and their house had been demolished by the civil administration as it was illegally constructed on panchayat land. Gupta maintained that directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to take stern action against drug peddlers would be followed in letter and spirit in future too.