Houses of 8 drug peddlers facing 75 FIRs demolished in Patiala

Police on Wednesday demolished the houses of eight drug peddlers who had illegally encroached on government land in Rohti Channa village near Nabha.

The operation was led by SSP Varun Sharma, who stated that the encroachments were built on land belonging to the Water Resources Department.

“They were running an illegal drug trade from those houses,” the police claimed.

According to officials, the accused individuals already have 75 FIRs registered against them across various police stations.

Meanwhile, in another operation conducted by the Kapurthala District Administration at Toti village in Sultanpur Lodhi, an illegal construction on panchayat land by drug smuggler Surjit Singh alias Tota was demolished.

SSP Gaurav Tura stated that Surjit Singh and his family are deeply entrenched in the drug trade, with 18 cases under the NDPS Act registered against them.

Surjit Singh alone has seven NDPS cases lodged against him since 2013 and is currently in jail. His wife, Kulwant Kaur alias Billo, has four cases related to drug smuggling, while their son, Rahul, is absconding and faces seven NDPS cases.

The SSP further revealed that the administration has accelerated the auction of properties acquired through drug money. In recent days, properties worth Rs 3.5 crore have been seized, and proceedings are underway to seize another Rs 1.5 crore worth of assets. Full legal prosecution is being pursued to auction these properties through court processes, he added.