JAMMU: As part of the wider campaign against the drug menace in the Union Territory (UT) of J&K, the district police across all 20 districts is taking strict against those involved in peddling drugs. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had inaugurated a 100-day campaign some days ago, starting from Jammu.
Since that day, he has personally led padyatra in several other districts in the Jammu region. Galvanised by the momentum the campaign is picking up, Anantnag and Shopian districts in south Kashmir carried out an extensive demolition drive on Wednesday. In Anantnag, the target of the police was some properties masquerading as dhabas and restaurants on the main arterial roads but actually involved in drug related crimes.
The police signatures on demolition drive were carried out by bulldozers and heavy JCB machines. The demolition drive underway against illegal properties built by alleged drug peddlers embraced Bijbehara, considered a bastion of Muftis, in Anantnag district.
The operation was carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in tandem with the civil administration after completing all the legal formalities. This demolition drive is a small part of a broader 100-day government programme aimed at eradicating the drug menace. Since LG Manoj Sinha himself is leading it from the front, any dereliction on the part of the civil administration as also the police is unlikely.
In the Sangam area along National Highway (NH-44), officials demolished illegal structures worth crores built on state land. These establishments, which operated as roadside eateries, were linked to individuals with multiple records under the NDPS Act. The political influence and muscle power wielded by some of the property owners had tied the hands of the law enforcement agencies earlier.
Kashmir Restaurant, owned by Gul Mohammad Mir and his son Bashir Ahmad Mir, both named in various drug-related FIRs at the Bijbehara police station, was one such property. Adjacent to it, Taj Restaurant, owned by Mohammad Maqbool Mir and his sons, was also razed due to their involvement in narcotics trafficking.
Mir Restaurant, belonging to their brother Amma Mir, was similarly destroyed after officials confirmed the structures were illegally erected without authorisation. In the past, political protection led to these constructions on state-owned land as these drug peddlers grabbed the land. These structures had been built over several years, then expanded.
Those travelling on this stretch of road frequently were told in hushed tones that food was not the main business these establishments carried out. They were involved in drug business and could supply different types of illegal and prohibited substances at competitive rates.
Another demolition in the Wachi area of Zainapora, Shopian, led to shops belonging to Abdul Hamid Ganie and Mohammad Ramzan Ganie being targeted. Both individuals are accused in active narcotics cases in the district.
Local officials said these actions reinforce the administration’s commitment to dismantling the financial assets of the drug trade while reclaiming encroached state land used for criminal activities.
These demolition drives owe their genesis to such action being taken in the Jammu district over two months ago. In several raids on illegally begotten properties of local drug peddlers, the Jammu police had demolished many big buildings in Bishnah and Narwal areas of the Jammu district. Later, some buildings in Bari Brahmana and some in Kathua districts were targeted.
A prize catch of sorts in the recent days for the Jammu police has been one particularly violent mobster named Lau Gujjar. Some of his relatives have also been arrested for their involvement in these drug related crimes.
In the coming days, such actions are likely to gain momentum as the police gathers more evidence and the drug peddlers avoid arrests.
