‘Iss laal t-shirt wale ko check karna (check this man in a red t-shirt),’ Head Constable Dhirender, stationed at the Sadar Bazar police booth in Old Delhi, tells his colleague through a speaker-enabled CCTV camera at the entry point of Priyadarshini JJ Cluster near the Qutub Road. Amid a six-month-long operation launched last November, police personnel like Head Constable Dhirender have maintained constant surveillance in the Priyadarshini JJ cluster, which was declared Delhi’s first “drug-free slum” in April. Whenever they noticed anything suspicious, they alerted their colleagues on the ground so that prompt action could be ensured.
The feat of freeing the colony of drug peddlers came through amid concerted efforts and a focused strategy, say officials. The cluster has approximately 350-400 houses and an estimated population of 4,000.
“Like Sadar Bazar is a wholesale market for goods, the colony had once become a wholesale market for cheap drugs like ganja (marijuana)… heroin, too, was picking up. The colony shares its boundary with the railway station, and it is easy to drop off (packages) and distribute from there,” a police officer posted in the area says. “Amid surveillance, the drug trade here had almost stopped in December, but some notorious elements cropped up again,” says a senior police officer.
A total of 12 CCTV cameras were set up across the length and breadth of the slum, which is near Sadar Bazar, India’s biggest wholesale market, ahead of Republic Day. Focused action against drug peddling continued in the months that followed. Two armed police officers were deployed round-the-clock at both the entry and exit points to the slum with Qutub Pul and Qutub Road. Proper street lighting was ensured.
In April, police said they finally managed to rid the area of drug peddlers. But what goes into declaring an area drug-free? “There are no set SOPs to put a label like that. When you find no seller or peddler or consumer anymore in the area, that becomes a clear indicator,” says the officer.
Between last October and May this year, 32 FIRs have been registered under sections Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, as per the police data.
Inspector Sahdev Singh Tomar, Station House Officer (SHO), Sadar Bazar police station, highlights one of the key challenges during such an operation — drug peddlers easily mingle with the crowds from the railway station and the wholesale market.
“It’s the consumers who raise the eyebrows. Some are easily identifiable since they are young college students. Approximately 215 people were taken in preventive custody, including sellers and consumers, between January and March. Among the consumers were also IIT B.Tech and MBBS students. Earlier, when we conducted raids, even children would signal our arrival by making particular sounds to alert the peddlers,” the SHO recalls.
The change is evident. Shivani Gupta, a resident of the colony, says, “The market area is anyway crowded. At one point in time, there used to be so many people here selling and consuming drugs… even outsiders used to come and buy drugs. It felt like people were on top of each other. Even if the police came and tried to catch offenders, many would escape in the chaos.”
But several people who sold drugs to earn a living are still trying to adapt to the change.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a 47-year-old shares that he is trying hard to turn his life around. He sells papaya on a cart now. “I used to work as a labourer in Mumbai. Then I came here and did menial jobs, and also started selling drugs. The police are very strict now. They have also helped us pick up other jobs,” he says. He has been imprisoned for offences under the NDPS Act, and is out on bail at present.
A 45-year-old woman shares that she was earlier involved in supplying marijuana. She has been arrested by the police once and spent three months in prison recently. She, too, is out on bail and now sells sattu on a cart in the colony.
Raja Banthia, DCP, North, underlines, “The sellers used to provide free substances to children initially, and later turned them into customers. They also used children as couriers, so even if they are caught with drugs, they are released within a few months.”
Among other measures, the DCP adds, police initially carried out a verification drive to understand the demography of the area. A committee has also been formed along with residents to foster better communication, understanding, and collaboration between local police and the residents, focusing on improving safety and addressing local concerns, he highlights.
At Priyadarshini Colony near Sadar Bazar in Delhi
(Express/Gajendra Yadav) 
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