Irked over the alleged drug menace and recent loot incidents, residents and the panchayat of Burj Rathi village in Mansa district held a gathering to demand the establishment of a police post along the Bathinda-Mansa road, between Burj Rathi and Bhai Desa villages.The residents have also decided to hold a general public assembly (aam izlaas) on Saturday to pass a resolution in this regard.Village sarpanch Darshan Singh, who belongs to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), said two mysterious incidents involving alleged loot had taken place in the village recently. He said residents suspected that drug addicts were behind the incidents and urged the authorities to set up a police post at Bhai Desa village.Beant Singh, a local resident and Director of the District Cooperative Union, said, “A local truck driver returning home on a motorcycle was recently brutally attacked, critically injured, and robbed of approximately Rs 12,000. Owing to the severe nature of his injuries, the victim is currently undergoing treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh.”Beant Singh added that multiple snatching incidents had also taken place in the village recently.Residents said Joga police station is located about 15 km away, while an existing police post at Thuthianwali village, which falls under a different police station, is around 10 km away.Sub-Inspector Kulwant Singh, SHO of Joga Police Station, said he visited the village on Thursday to engage with residents.He said the police were taking swift action to address public safety concerns. However, the SHO disputed the residents’ description of the recent incidents, saying the two cases were road mishaps rather than organised lootings. He also claimed that drug-related activities in the area were virtually non-existent.Meanwhile, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring issued an appeal on social media asking people to send him the names of villages where individuals had died due to drug abuse over the past three months.