Mumbai police banished two women allegedly drug peddling, from the city for a year

|HT|

The Mumbai Police have banished for a year two women in their 30s from the city for allegedly running a network of drug peddlers in the absence of their jailed husbands, said a police officer on Thursday. It is rare for police to take such preventive action against women offenders. Generally, habitual criminals face externment. Tehseen Bano Ali Sheikh, 33, allegedly ran the drug racket in eastern Mumbai, while the second accused, Firdous Rashid Sheikh, 30, is a key member of the gang. The two are residents of Cheeta Camp in Trombay.

The officer blamed the racket for drug addiction among young men in Trombay, which has led to criminal activities in the area. “Their husbands are hardened criminals and are in jail facing serious charges under MCOCA [Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act] and NDPS [Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances] Act. In their absence, Tehseen and Firdous were running the drug racket in the area and sold drugs, especially marijuana,” said Trombay Police Station assistant inspector Amol Kadam.

The station’s senior inspector, Rehana Shaikh, and Kadam proposed the externment citing the criminal activities of the two before a deputy police commissioner ordered the banishment. Last year, 71 people were externed from Mumbai under Maharashtra Police Act’s Section 55.

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