Cops ‘fail to act’, Mansa village panchayat leads anti-drug raid

Irate over the alleged police inaction, the panchayat, along with a large number of residents of Nangal Kalan, one of the biggest villages in Mansa district, on Monday carried out a search operation at the houses of some alleged drug peddlers and warned them of penalties if they did not mend their ways.

Resham Singh, the 32-year-old sarpanch of Nangal Kalan, said, “We had requested the police and the authorities concerned several times in the past to make our village ‘chitta-free’. We had even given them the names of drug suppliers. I had sent WhatsApp messages to the police and met some officers in this regard. However, when nothing was done, we acted on our own and carried out a search operation at some residences.”

He added, “We found a digital weighing scale and habit-forming capsules at one residence. Though the drug peddler was not present, his father claimed they had stopped this illegal business and would not return to it. We have now issued a warning, saying that next time the panchayat will penalise them. We are ready to face police action but want to save our village residents.”

Villagers appreciated the panchayat’s action and said the police should conduct such search operations regarding drugs rather than penalising farmers for burning paddy stubble.

Repeated attempts to contact Mansa DSP Butta Singh Gill proved futile. When contacted, Pritpal Singh, DSP (NDPS), Mansa, said, “The DSP of the Mansa subdivision, Butta Singh, may give a better reply in this regard. However, I will also look into the issue of Nangal Kalan village.”