Malout, Aug 21 — In a symbolic act of relief, residents of Jhorar village near Malout celebrated with ‘laddoos’ after authorities demolished the house of a woman accused of drug peddling. The action, carried out jointly by the district administration and police, targeted the residence of widow Pal Kaur, which officials said was built illegally on panchayat land.
Police maintained that Kaur was involved in drug trafficking and noted that her husband and father-in-law also faced multiple cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Jasraj Singh, a former sarpanch, told The Tribune that the demolition marked a turning point for a community long plagued by drugs. “Nearly 50 cases have been registered against about 100 residents of our village under the NDPS Act in the past few years. The drug menace is now largely under control. Today, the residents and the panchayat expressed satisfaction over this house demolition action by distributing ‘laddoos’,” he said.
Singh added that many villagers remain entangled in drug cases. “A number of people from our village are still in jail or are out on bail in NDPS Act cases,” he noted. Villagers said some youths had even died due to substance abuse, while those dealing in drugs showed little concern for the damage caused.
This is not the first such demolition in Jhorar, which has a population of about 7,000 and is located 13 km from Malout town. In June, three houses belonging to alleged women peddlers were also razed. Police at the time said Rani faced eight NDPS cases, Charanjit Kaur six, and Satto five.
While villagers expressed satisfaction with the crackdown, social activists in the region raised concerns about insufficient support for addicts. Advocate N.D. Singla and Ranjit Singh, both from Gidderbaha, said they had repeatedly approached the administration earlier this week to get a woman drug addict admitted to the women’s de-addiction centre in Jalandhar but received no response.
“The woman is currently admitted to the civil hospital in Gidderbaha. Three days have passed, but nobody has bothered to complete the legal formalities to shift her to the de-addiction centre in Jalandhar. We are even ready to bear the travel expenses,” said Singla.
Activists argued that while punitive measures against traffickers are important, rehabilitation efforts for addicts should not be neglected.
