Three Doaba villages pose a social challenge

Reported by I P singh in timesofindia.indiatimes.com on September 04, 2012
Three Doaba villages pose a social challenge - The Times of India

JALANDHAR: Three villages of three districts of Doaba - Jalandhar, Nawashahr and Hoshiarpur - throw up a major social challenge with exceptionally high number of drug pedalling cases against residents who belong to the Sansi community.

Data of last five years of cases under the NDPS Act, procured under RTI Act by Human Empowerment League Punjab (HELP) activist P S Kitna, has revealed that Sansi men andwomen figure prominently in these cases. Besides, information gathered by TOI has revealed that the accused in the cases mainly belong to a particular tribe which was de-notified after independence.

Information revealed that 112 men and 60 women of Ganna Pind village of Jalandhar district have been booked in several cases. While 27 men and 16 women have already been convicted, one woman has been declared a proclaimed offender. The remaining accused are still undertrials.

In Langroa village of Nawashahr district, 43 men and 40 women have been booked in cases under the NDPS Act. Twelve women have already been convicted.

In Denowal Khurd village near Garhshankar, Hoshiarpur district, 45 women face cases while 12 have been convicted. Kitna revealed that while separate information about men could not be procured, police officials put the number higher than those of women.

HELP activists Charanjit Singh Bheen and P S Rana, besides Kitna, said a comprehensive and long term programme needs to be chalked out and implemented to wean people from drug peddlling. "A major part of their (peddlers) earnings from the illegal trade goes as bribe to police officials and in litigation costs to defend themselves," they said.

Sham Sunder, a youth from Ganna Pind village, told TOI that the local youths face "discrimination" because of the stigma "on the village" when they try to seek employment in private sector.