Illegal buildings of accused in drug cases razed

In a major crackdown on drug-related crimes, the Kapurthala district administration demolished illegal constructions built on panchayat land in Boot village. Acting on the orders of Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Dhilwan, Manjeet Kaur, the civil and police administration razed three illegally built houses linked to individuals with multiple cases under the NDPS Act against them.

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Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Tura stated that these illegal constructions were occupied by Gurnam Singh, his wife Bhani, and others.

Gurnam Singh has five NDPS Act cases against him, while Bhani faces four cases registered at different police stations. Similarly, illegal structures built by Sher Singh, his son Kala Singh and Mehtab Singh were also demolished. Sher Singh has one case against him, while Kala Singh, Mehtab Singh and another accused Charhat Singh, are facing multiple cases under the NDPS Act.

Additionally, illegal constructions belonging to Surjeet Singh, who has six cases registered under the NDPS Act, were also removed.

SSP Tura emphasised that under Punjab government’s ‘War against Drugs’ campaign, a three-pronged approach focusing on prevention, enforcement and rehabilitation is being implemented. The police have identified drug “hotspots” and are taking decisive action against traffickers.

“In the past month alone, 190 drug traffickers have been arrested and 111 cases have been registered,” said Tura. He urged the public to support the administration in the fight against drugs, assuring that informants’ identities would be kept confidential.

BDPO Manjeet Kaur revealed that the demolition order was issued way back in September 2015, instructing encroachers to vacate the land. However, no action was taken by the accused. The Panchayat Department is now actively working to reclaim the encroached panchayat land across the district.