Cops ask Central railways to clean up Byculla-Masjid stretch after drug war

When the mid-day team took a ride along the CSMT-Sandhurst Road stretch on the harbour and central lines, it found people sitting on the sides of the tracks and smoking. Pic/Atul Kamble

The clash between Byculla residents and Nigerian drug peddlers on June 7, which left around 10 locals injured, has led the Government Railway Police (GRP) to conduct a survey of the notorious stretch between the Masjid and Byculla stations. On the basis of their findings, they have now written a letter to railway officials, asking them to clean up the area, thus putting the onus on the latter for a permanent solution.

GRP commissioner Niket Kaushik confirmed that he wrote to the Central Railway officials recently to clean up the tracks so that illegal activities do not take place.

In their survey, GRP found that peddlers and druggies use the tracks for conducting illegal, drug-related activities. Pic/Atul Kamble

Floodlights and security
In their survey, GRP found that peddlers and druggies use the railway tracks for conducting illegal, drug-related activities, and in the cover of the dark, have harassed locals as well. To curb this, GRP has asked railways to close the various entry and exit points to the tracks where drugs are sold. Another key recommendation is putting up floodlights in the yard at Sandhurst Road station. It has also recommended cutting bushes used by druggies to smoke.

In addition to this, they've asked railways to also remove the trees and temporary structures along the tracks so they are not misused.

Problem area
The stretch has been a problem area for a long time by being a haven for drug peddlers. Before the recent clashes with the Byculla locals, eight policemen were injured in 2016 during Operation Sabak being carried out by the Mumbai crime branch to weed out peddlers. The cops were able to arrest only two Nigerian drug peddlers, while 20 of them managed to escape.