Five Kartarpur panchayats join hands to nail peddlers, thieves

Residents of five villages in Kartarpur have taken upon themselves to prevent thefts and drug peddling in their areas.

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Panchayats of Dayalpur, Kudowal, Dhirpur, Bheekha Nangal and Mallian villages on Saturday formed a committee to deal with the problems during a meeting at Kudowal.

A detailed strategy was also devised to tackle the problem.

“Police de mulazim ghat ne, nasheri bahut ne. Kujh vi chak ke lai jande ne, hun aap hi naake laane paine (Addicts outnumber cops and make off with anything that they could lay their hands on. So, we will have to set up checkpoints on our own),” said Tejinder Singh, a resolute sarpanch of Kudowal.

Miscreants struck at a house in Kudowal thrice and decamped with tractor batteries, wires, 15 to 16 quintals of wheat, etc. Thieves fled with cash and valuables worth Rs 7 lakh in cash from a house in Dayalpur village this month. Villagers allege thieves, who are mostly drug users, carry out recce and zero in on targets.

Apart from nakas, efforts will be made to bring the entire area of the villages under CCTV surveillance. WhatsApp groups will be created for coordination. A village-level network will be in place so that a peddler fleeing a village is caught in the other village.

Tejinder Singh said, “When chased, thieves fled leaving their motorbikes behind. In most of the cases, the bikes were found to be stolen and had no number plate. On January 6, villagers got wind of a theft plan and gathered, following which thieves abandoned their motorbikes, which were without number plates. Sharp weapons were recovered. Every village has reported at least five to six thefts in the past one month. Complaints are made to the police, but thieves go untraced. Also, fighting alone, panchayats are targeted and threatened, so we have now decided to wage a war together.”

Ten to 12 CCTV cameras have already been installed in both Dayalpur and Kudowal villages.

Dayalpur sarpanch Harjinder Singh said, “We have about 10 to 12 CCTVs at all entry points. At Kudowal, the panchayat will set up high-definition CCTVs too.