Police personnel during a door-to-door search operation as part of the State-wide anti-drug drive in Amritsar on March 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
As part of its ongoing drive against the drug menace, Punjab Police in coordination with local authorities on Sunday (March 2, 2025) razed unauthorised structures built by drug smugglers in Jalandhar’s Phillaur, officials said.
Opinion: The continuing drugs menace in Punjab
The illegal structures were built on the encroached panchayat land in Khanpur and Mandi villages of Phillaur, they said.
The structures were occupied by two individuals with a history of narcotics smuggling, the officials said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jalandhar Rural, Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh said the demolition drive was carried out following request from the block development and panchayat officer (BDPO) Phillaur, who sought police assistance for the removal of illegal encroachments.
The action was directed against Jasvir Singh alias Sheera, a resident of Khanpur, and Bholi, a resident of Mandi, for illegally occupying village panchayat land, the officials said.
Police said Bholi is a notorious drug smuggler and has been facing multiple drugs cases, including recovery of 1.190 kg smack in 2005, a two-kg poppy husk seizure in 2015, and a significant quantity of drugs recovered in 2022.
Jasvir Singh has also been named in multiple cases, including one involving a commercial quantity of ‘charas’ and intoxicated injections.
Mr. Khakh said police, along with revenue and panchayat officials, ensured that the encroachments were demolished smoothly, with adequate deployment to prevent any disruption.
He said that these two drug traffickers would often intimidate and threaten the villagers.
The authorities concerned confirmed that the land rightfully belongs to the gram panchayat and had been unlawfully occupied by the accused.
The SSP reiterated that police will continue its crackdown on encroachments linked to criminal networks, ensuring that no individual benefits from proceeds of crime or unauthorized occupation of public land.
He further urged people to report such illegal activities, assuring strict and swift action against offenders.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday (February 28, 2025) had set a deadline of three months to make the state drug-free.
As part of the State government’s renewed push against the drug problem, action is being taken against drug peddlers and in some places, their properties were also demolished.
Published – March 03, 2025 09:14 am IST
