The newly built house of Pal Kaur, a widow, was razed on the grounds that it had been constructed illegally on panchayat land.

Police maintained that she was involved in drug peddling activities, her husband and father-in-law also faced cases under the NDPS Act.

Talking to The Tribune, Jasraj Singh, a former sarpanch of the village, said, “Nearly 50 cases have been registered against about 100 residents of our village under the NDPS Act in the past few years. The drug menace is now largely under control. Today, the residents and the panchayat expressed satisfaction over this house demolition action by distributing ‘laddoos’.”

He added, “A number of people from our village are still in jail or are out on bail in NDPS Act cases.”

Villagers claimed that some youngsters had even lost their lives due to drugs, but those involved in the illegal trade remained indifferent.

Earlier in June, three other houses belonging to three alleged women drug peddlers were also demolished in the same village. At that time, police had stated that Rani was facing eight NDPS cases, Charanjit Kaur six, and Satto five.

The village, located about 13-km from Malout town, has a population of nearly 7,000.

Meanwhile, two social activists from Gidderbaha, Advocate ND Singla and Ranjit Singh, who are working against the drug menace, claimed that they had requested the district administration and concerned officers on Monday and Tuesday to get a woman drug addict admitted to the women’s de-addiction centre in Jalandhar. However, no official came forward to help.

“The woman is currently admitted to the civil hospital in Gidderbaha. Three days have passed, but nobody has bothered to complete the legal formalities to shift her to the de-addiction centre in Jalandhar. We are even ready to bear the travel expenses,” claimed Singla.