‘Peaceful’ trade in drugs, country liquor

three shanties outside platform no. 4 at belghoria station are drawing crowds from faraway places. in fact, their popularity is growing by the day. men, young and old, queue up in front these shanties, get in when their turn comes and emerge soon with packets in their hands. the owners of these shanties are doing brisk business dealing reportedly with almost all varieties of drugs, starting from ganja, brown sugar and even lsd.country liquor is an added attraction. till 1995, there was a sprawling market in the area catering to passengers of the local trains returning from office. suddenly, the land was required for expansion of the circular railway. the project is yet to start even after six years. but the business of drugs and country liquor is in full swing. locals complain that drugs and liquor are brought from the bilkanda region in broad daylight with the police peacefully looking the other way. the 78/1 bus route is one of the most common routes along which contraband is transported in bicycles. hooch is brought and sold in handy polythene packets and has earned the pet name pepsi. it has nothing to do with the popular soft drink brand. other crimes, too, are on the rise. a girl was picked up and raped in the area before puja. the police say that one of the accused has been arrested. three others are still absconding. a 30-year-old photographer was kidnapped, never to return. workers of beni engineering, closed since 1988, had tried to prevent the theft of machinery. they were severely beaten up. a security guard was killed. the authorities, however, feign ignorance. officer-in-charge of belghoria police station madhab chatterjee vehemently denies that the shanties in question deal in drugs. country liquor is sold sometimes, he admits, but not drugs. moreover, raids are regularly conducted and the culprits are arrested, he claims. according to him, belghoria is a peaceful place. which is far from the truth. belghoria has always been a breeding ground of criminals. the notorious inu mitra used to operate from here in the sixties. an old man now, he leads a retired life. bua gobondo and 'hat kata' ashish had spread terror in the area in the eighties till they were killed. the reigning don is one shyamal, allegedly owing allegiance to the cpm. yards away from the shanties stand a cpm-dominated club which claims to be the peacekeeper of the area. banners and posters asking people to vote for the cpm still adorn the walls inside the club office. at election time, the members work for the cpm and the rest of the time they ensure that there is no violation of peace. indeed, drug peddling and sale of hooch goes on peacefully!