Jammu Tawi, Jul 20: Two residential houses and a cowshed belonging to two brothers accused of being chronic drug peddlers were demolished in a joint operation carried out by the civil administration and police in Kathua district on Monday, police said.
The demolished structures, worth over Rs 3.5 crore, had been illegally constructed on State land by Gulzar alias “Dau” and his brother Farman Ali at village Sapral Pain in Marheen tehsil, a police spokesman said.
He said both accused are allegedly involved in multiple FIRs related to drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
The demolition was carried out in the presence of civil and police administration as part of the government’s sustained campaign against the drug menace, the spokesman said.
He said the action sends a strong message that no individual involved in narcotics trafficking will be allowed to benefit from the proceeds of crime of Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) by building unauthorised structures on encroached government land.
The district administration and the Kathua Police reiterated their firm commitment to making the district drug-free and warned that stringent legal action will continue against drug peddlers and all those involved in narcotic-related offences, the spokesman said.
