category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU Chandigarh Punjab Police on Thursday said that the ongoing anti-drug campaign has started gathering mass support, with at least 67 villages of Sangrur district passing a resolution to socially boycott drug sellers. On Thursday, at least 67 villages and 20 wards of Sangrur district passed the resolution, Punjab Police statement said here in a statement. This is yet another achievement which came amidst the series of Cordon and Search Operations (CASO) focused on drug trafficking, anti-social elements and criminals being conducted by the Punjab Police to make Punjab a drug-free and crime-free state, it said. On Wednesday, people from Midda village and Mohalla Chhajghar of Malout, both areas notorious for drugs in Mukstar district, pledged to stay away from drugs, it said. Congratulating the Sangrur Police team for the accomplishment, Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla exhorted the public to come forward to completely eradicate the menace of drugs from the state and transform it into a Rangla (vibrant) Punjab . Shukla said that Punjab Police is not leaving any stone unturned to nab drug smugglers and break the drug supply, but public support is a must to cut the demand. Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Patiala Range, Mukhwinder Singh Chhina invited 10 panchayats for a meeting to appreciate their efforts in the fight against drugs. On Day-4, the CASO was conducted in two districts of Patiala Range including Sangrur and Barnala on the directions of Director General of Police, Punjab, Gaurav Yadav. The entire operation was conducted under the overall supervision of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Patiala Range Mukhwinder Singh Chhina and SSPs were directed to meticulously plan this operation and deploy maximum police force, the statement said. Shukla said that police arrested 11 anti-social elements and registered eight FIRs during the operation. They also rounded up 60 suspicious persons for questioning, he added. The Special DGP said that a 1,200-strong police force under the supervision of SSP Sangrur Surendra Lamba and SSP Barnala Sandeep Kumar Malik carried out CASO at several drug hotspots identified in their districts. (editor dailyworld.in)