A woman currently lodged in a jail during a drugs case trial has alleged she was “falsely implicated” as the police and people were trying to shield a drug store owner from Dheero Majra village
The woman from Chaunda village has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. In a video, she has also named around 20 girls from the village, terming them “addicts”.
Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) member Jitender Singh Shunty, through his social media accounts, said the panel will act against the “drug mafia” connected to the case.
After Shunty’s post, the village panchayat also took to social media to issue a clarification regarding the matter.
During a conversation with Shunty, the woman admitted she fell prey to drug addiction after completing studies in engineering about two years ago. She, however, accused the Amargarh police of falsely implicating her in a case for possession of habit-forming tablets.
She argued the police action was discriminatory as other girls of the village were consuming narcotic tablets, but they arrested only her.
According to the woman, peddlers were openly selling drugs at Rohti bridge on Malerkotla-Patiala road.
The woman alleged villagers were shielding owners of the drug store at Dheero Majra village, who supplied syringes and distributed drugs among addicts.
Panchayat hits back
Residents, led by office-bearers of social organisations and the panchayat, alleged the woman has been distributing drugs with help from her accomplice, and was now trying to malign the image of the village with false statements.
“None of the girls from our village are known to have consumed drugs,” said sarpanch Amrik Singh, maintaining women activists were regularly organising events for sensitising girls to causes and consequences of drug abuse.
Amargarh Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sanjiv Kapoor said the woman was arrested for possessing habit forming tablets over a month ago and had not challenged the police action at any platform earlier. “It was during visit of the PSHRC member that she tried to draw attention through false allegations,” said Kapoor.
