Drug peddling by women on the rise in Muktsar

MUKTSAR:THE police on Saturday arrested a woman and her husband with 10,000 intoxicating tablets in Malout of Muktsar.

This is not the lone case in which police have booked a woman in connection with drugs in the district.

The indulgence of women in peddling is continuously rising.

In November alone, nine cases against women were registered by the police under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Excise Act in the district and drugs, including heroin, poppy husk and illicit liquor have been recovered from their possession.

Bariwala station house officer (SHO) Darbar Singh said, “Women are being lured into the peddling business to facilitate smooth operation. However, we have arrested several women in the recent past and tried to break this chain.”

As per information, 77 cases under the NDPS Act and 17 cases under Excise Act against women has been registered against women during 2015-18 in Muktsar district. Under the NDPS Act, eight cases were registered against women in 2015-16, 22 in 2016-17 and 47 cases were filed in 2017-18 in Mukstar.

Speaking to HT, Muktsar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raj Bachan Singh Sandhu said, “Peddlers involve women as police usually do not suspect their indulgence. To control this practice, we have deployed female police officers at check posts and they also take part in raids.”

Advocate Kuljinder Singh Sidhu, former president of bar association, Gidderbaha, said some women are involved to help their male counterparts in peddling while some take up the trade to bear expenditure of their family and make quick money.