Shimla police demolish five shops in Rohru

The Shimla police and the Public Works Department (PWD) demolished five shops built illegally on government land near Lamba Khatal along the Chirgaon-Rohru road in Rohru, Himachal Pradesh. A store at the site was also taken into possession. The construction was estimated at around Rs 15 lakh.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Shimla City Mehar Panwar said the action was linked to a chitta trafficking case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Kotkhai police station. During a review of the case, officials found shops and a store constructed on PWD land.

Panwar said the structures were old and registered in the name of Shaheen Mahatma, a Rohru resident.

The Shimla police began verifying suspected illegal properties linked to drug trafficking under the NDPS Act in February 2026. So far, the police have verified 940 properties and identified 58 suspected illegal properties. The police have demarcated two properties and both have been demolished.

Earlier, on October 8, 2026, the police demolished an allegedly illegal restaurant belonging to a drug trafficker in Rohru. Panwar said this was the first such action against properties linked to drug traffickers in Shimla district. Within eight months, the police have acted against properties belonging to two alleged drug traffickers.

She added that the police had recently seized more than one kilogram of chitta in the same area. The investigation covers financial transactions, suspected illegal properties and locations potentially used for drug trafficking to trace the wider network.