Senior police officials on Jattvibeday visited Bara Pind in the Phillaur Assembly constituency following the designation of five villages in the area as drug hotspots, holding a meeting with the village panchayat, prominent residents and villagers to hear their concerns over the classification.The delegation was led by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jalandhar Range, Naveen Singla, and included Jalandhar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police Harvinder Singh Virk, Phillaur DSP Bharat Masih and DSP Manjit Singh, along with other police personnel. The officers also visited the village’s sports ground during their tour.During the meeting, villagers strongly emphasised Bara Pind’s sporting legacy, stating that the village had earned recognition for its contribution to sports and had produced several international-level players. They expressed concern that its inclusion on the drug hotspot list could adversely affect the village’s reputation despite its longstanding identity as a centre of sporting excellence.The villagers also drew the officials’ attention to the presence of a Community Health Centre (CHC) in Bara Pind, which caters to people from around 82 villages in the surrounding areas. According to the residents, patients from these villages visit the health facility to obtain medicines, including individuals receiving medication as part of treatment for substance dependence. They argued that the movement of such patients to the village and the associated health-centre data may have contributed to Bara Pind being classified as a drug hotspot.Contending that the classification did not adequately reflect the village’s overall identity and circumstances, residents urged the senior police officials to review the available data and remove Bara Pind from the list. They maintained that the village’s sporting achievements and the healthcare services it provides to the surrounding rural population should also be taken into consideration while assessing its status.Responding to the concerns, DIG Naveen Singla said a statewide campaign against drug abuse and trafficking was being conducted under the CASO operation. As part of this drive, five villages in the Phillaur area had been identified as drug hotspots. These included Bara Pind, Ganna Pind, Samrari and Salakiana, along with another village.The DIG acknowledged the objections raised by the residents of Bara Pind and said a meeting would be held to examine the issues brought to the Police Department’s attention. His remarks indicated that the villagers’ concerns would be considered, although no immediate decision to remove the village from the hotspot list was announced during the visit.Providing details of the police record, Singla said 16 FIRs related to drugs had been registered in Bara Pind. The figure formed part of the information cited by the police in connection with the village’s identification, though the precise nature, time period and details of these cases were not disclosed during the meeting.The interaction highlighted the need to address drug-related concerns through effective law enforcement while also ensuring that the circumstances behind the identification of individual villages were examined carefully. The residents’ demand for a review and the police assurance that their objections would be discussed have brought the classification of Bara Pind into focus, with the village seeking recognition of its sporting heritage and its role as a healthcare centre for dozens of neighbouring villages.