Ludhiana: Houses of 2 peddling accused demolished
Special director general of police (law and order), Arpit Shukla, said that this step is part of the government’s zero-tolerance policy toward drug trafficking and illegal wealth
The police along with municipal corporation (MC) teams demolished the houses of two drug peddling accused in Ludhiana. The municipal workers entered the house of the accused with hammers in hand and demolished the illegal construction in Amarpura, where bulldozers had no access due to narrow streets.
Special director general of police (law and order), Arpit Shukla, said that this step is part of the government’s zero-tolerance policy toward drug trafficking and illegal wealth. He added that since March 1, a total of 126 illegally-built properties belonging to drug traffickers have been demolished across Punjab.
In the first action, a bulldozer was used to bring down the house of Gurpal, a notorious drug smuggler, located at Street Number 2 in Amarpura, Ludhiana. The demolition was done under heavy police presence, including commissioner of police Swapan Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (investigation) Harpal Singh, ADCP (zone-1) Sameer Verma, and assistant town planner (zone-B) Kuljeet Singh Mangat.
Commissioner Sharma said Gurpal has a criminal history, with nine drug-related cases filed against him in various police stations in Ludhiana. He has been involved in drug smuggling since 2014 and is well known in the area for such illegal activities. Police believe he fled to Himachal Pradesh after Punjab Police stepped up its crackdown on drugs.
In the second case, the house of a woman drug smuggler named Rajinder Kaur, also known as Rozy, was also demolished. Her house was located on Street Number 9 in Hero Suman Nagar, Lohara village. This operation was also carried out under tight security, with officials including commissioner Sharma, DCP Harpal Singh, ADCP (zone-2) Karanvir Singh, Naib Tehsildar Harkirat Singh, and assistant town planner (zone-C) Navneet Singh on-site.
The police commissioner stated Rozy had moved into the locality a few years ago and gradually built the house. She currently faces two drug-related cases and is presently in jail, he added.
He also assured that both demolitions followed all rules and were carried out peacefully with the support of the local residents.
These actions are part of the Punjab government’s broader efforts to send a clear message: drug smugglers will not only be arrested but will also lose all assets gained through illegal means.
