265 smugglers on police radar, houses may face bulldozer action any time

The Police Commissionerate, Ludhiana, is set to initiate massive action against the drug smugglers as a list of as many as 265 peddlers has been prepared by the police. The same list has been further shared with the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, to verify the properties owned by smugglers and illegal construction done by them from the proceeds of drug money. The MC had also intensified the practice of verification of the properties of smugglers, which might be bulldozed anytime in the coming days.

The two lists comprising 200 smugglers in the first list and 65 in the second list, the copy of which is with The Tribune, were analysed and it was found that it also had about 25 women smugglers facing multiple cases of drug smuggling. The list has detailed information about the drug smugglers, their addresses and the number of cases registered against them by the Ludhiana police in the past. Some of the cases registered against drug peddlers are more than a decade old and their properties are also on the radar of the police.

Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma told The Tribune that the police drive against drug peddlers was on and several properties of the smugglers, including those of women smugglers, had already been bulldozed by the commissionerate. The police had already shared names of smugglers with the MC and started getting status of properties of smugglers. Once the status of all properties is received, the police will start bulldozing the illegal constructions with the help of MC and other departments.

As per the proposed list of smugglers released by the police, a smuggler of Prem Nagar is facing 12 cases of drug smuggling, a smuggler of Kabir Nagar Daba is facing eight drug peddling cases, while another smuggler of New Shimlapuri is facing seven cases. In the list, every smuggler is facing a minimum of two cases.

In the ongoing exercise of bulldozing the houses of smugglers, the police is no mood to spare women smugglers as well. A list of 25 women smugglers who are facing multiple cases has also been shared with the MC. A woman smuggler of Burj Lambra village and another of Talwandi Kalan are facing six cases each of drug smuggling. A woman of Kakowal and another of Talwandi Kalan are facing five and four drug smuggling cases each.

Seven properties have already been demolished by the police till now. As per information, the Ludhiana police have already demolished seven properties, of which two were owned by women smugglers, Rani of Talwandi Kalan facing four smuggling cases and Bimla of Transport Nagar facing three smuggling cases.

Interestingly, houses of smuggler Amrit Singh of Haibowal, who is facing 10 smuggling cases, and Shinderpal Singh of Talwandi Kalan, who is facing nine drug peddling cases, were also demolished with the help of the Railways and Ludhiana MC.

‘We have diswoned them’, say parents

Interestingly, when the MC put up notices on the houses of smugglers, parents of some smugglers replied, “We have disowned their sons who were in drug peddling”. However, the police claim even if the house is not in the name of smuggler, the same can face bulldozer action if during verification the police found that drug money was used for the illegal construction.

Ludhiana