Narela residents allege rampant sale of liquor, drugs

Days after women beat up social worker in the locality, those in the area tell tale of unrestricted sale of booze, cops’ inaction

DE10 Lead 1

On a cold Saturday morning, residents of Sector A6, Narela sit outside their houses taking in the sun. They are all aware of what happened to a social worker in their locality only a few days ago.

On Thursday, the 30-year-old social worker, a resident of Pocket 11, was allegedly stripped and paraded on the road by a group of women. Six women, led by one Asha, were arrested by the police on Friday in connection with the case. The victim later claimed the incident was in retaliation to raising her voice against supply of illicit liquor in the area. Asha’s residence had been raided by the police following a complaint lodged by the victim.

Side entry

Tellingly enough, the residents call the group’s leader ‘ Asha Daaru Wali ’. “ Yahan sab jante hain use, bacche se leke budhe tak . (Everyone knows her here, from a child to an old man),” says Mohd Shakib, who runs a cigarette shop in Pocket-4.

On the street next to Pocket 11 is Asha’s two-storey house painted bluish-green and white. Neighbours claim that she runs her business of supplying illicit liquor through a side entry on the ground floor.

There’s a restaurant right next to the entry. Asha and her husband gave the floor on rent to the restaurant owner, Aslam Khan, two months ago.

Inside the restaurant is a sign in bold that says “ Yahan sharab peena sakht mana hai (Drinking here is prohibited)”. Right opposite the house is a police post with several officers and two PCR vans.

Asha’s next-door neighbours, who were witness to the initial raid and the beating that followed, claim that the presence of this illegal “ theka” doesn’t bother them. “We all are working. What happens here during the day is none of our business. She’s well behaved with people on our street,” said Sunita (35), adding that no customer drinks in the residential area. They buy and leave, she says.

Factory labourers

Most of the residents in the area work as labourers in factories running in Bhorgarh, a kilometre away from Narela.

However, a few metres ahead, in Pocket 11, residents have a different take on things. They allege that illegal supply of illicit liquor, marijuana, and hashish is rampant in the area and has only grown and become more explicit over the last 10 years.

“Children as young as 8 years old are given bottles of alcohol and there’s no one to stop them. They become addicted to alcohol and drugs and then start stealing, first from their houses and then from others,” says Shobha (32).

The locals told this reporter that this practice is worse in certain areas like pockets 4, 5, 11 and 13. “It’s sold by people from a particular community and it’s their age old tradition,” says 22-year-old Mangal, a painter.

‘Drugs openly sold’

On how the liquor and drugs are sold, locals say that alcohol is procured by bootleggers from Haryana border, which is 2 km from Narela, and supplied through small kiosks. “There are stalls set up every few metres which, on the face of it, sell cigarettes and food items but, in fact, sell liquor. As for drugs, they are openly sold in parks in the area,” says Deepak (23), who works at a factory in Bhorgarh.

When asked about the police post right in the middle of the area, locals claim that the police are fully aware of the illegal businesses. They allege that beat officers know but are either scared of the ‘mafia’ or accept bribe. “Every police officer here knows what’s going on but they don’t or can’t do anything,” says Khurshid (28), a driver.

The residents claim that these businesses are mostly run by women in the area who remain at the forefront while males in their family procure alcohol and drugs.

“The women are dangerous. They insult people so badly that no one wants to take any chances with them. If an officer says something, they get ready to tear their clothes just to frame the officer. We’ve witnessed this,” says Rani (27), a housewife.

Video of incident

Many have the video of the incident saved in their phone and still shudder when they look at it. In the video, a group of women can be seen pulling the clothes of the victim, attempting to strip her naked, tear her kameez and parade her through the main road holding her hair and abusing her. A police officer eventually tries to protect her.

Supporters of the victim tell this reporter that she’s been raising her voice against bootlegging for a year and “she had to pay the price for it”.

Meanwhile, at the residence of the victim, her 71-year-old father sits on a charpoy outside the house holding her twin 2-year-old daughters on his lap. “She’s in the hospital. Her husband is with her. Someone has to take care of the children,” he says.