Bikaner, Aug. 27 -- Women are emerging as active participants in narcotics networks across Rajasthan's border districts, with police investigations alleging their involvement in the supply, storage, transport and financial management of drug operations once largely controlled by male members of criminal families. Police records from Bikaner, Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar underline the scale of women's alleged involvement. In Hanumangarh, 32 women have been arrested so far this year in cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act), while Sri Ganganagar has recorded 24 such arrests in 2026. In Bikaner, 20 women were arrested in NDPS cases in 2025 and another six have been held so far this year. Sri Ganganagar recorded 32 arrests of women in such cases in 2025. The Bikaner Range has registered 1,127 cases under the NDPS Act and arrested 1,463 accused, according to police data. Recent cases in Bikaner illustrate the pattern. Nirmala Vishnoi was arrested by Vyas Colony police after she was allegedly found with 14 grams of MD and Rs.1.5 lakh in cash, police records said. "Investigation of narcotics cases is increasingly showing women playing active roles within family-linked networks. In some cases, women are not merely associated with the accused family but are themselves handling supply, storage, transportation and financial aspects of the drug trade," Sri Ganganagar additional superintendent of police Deepak Kumar Sharma said. In Hanumangarh, police records show several cases in which women were allegedly linked to drug networks following action against male members of their families. Sahjada Bibi, alias Kalli, of Hanumangarh Town, was arrested with 10.15 grams of heroin and cash. Her husband has 14 cases registered against him under the NDPS Act. Hanumangarh superintendent of police B Aadithya said drug networks often sought to continue operations by shifting responsibilities among family members after action against male operators. "Our investigations are going beyond the person found carrying the contraband. We are examining who is arranging the supply, who is controlling the money and who is acquiring properties from the proceeds. If a family member is found to be part of that chain, action will follow irrespective of gender," he said. Police have frozen an 8,160 sq ft residential property, valued at about Rs.1 crore, belonging to Zaiba Bibi, the wife of Kale Khan, in connection with alleged narcotics proceeds. In another case in Sangaria, Gurjit Kaur and Aabish Kumari were arrested with 21.801 kg of poppy husk. Manju Bai was intercepted with 683 grams of opium and Rs.1.40 lakh in cash, with investigators linking the alleged supply chain to Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh. The case of Mehrunishan, wife of history-sheeter Murad Ali, is another example from Bikaner. Murad Ali has 17 criminal cases registered against him, while his sons, Taliban and Laden, face 10 and five cases, respectively. Police allege Mehrunishan controlled family assets and helped channel proceeds into property. Sri Ganganagar has also recorded cases involving multiple generations of women. On August 22, 2026, the Special NDPS Court in Sri Ganganagar sentenced Dhapa Devi and her daughter, Poonam alias Gullu, to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment and fined each Rs.2 lakh in a case involving pharmaceutical opioids. Dhapa Devi's other daughter, Pooja, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. Alongside arrests, Rajasthan Police has intensified financial investigations into drug networks. Operations Neelkanth in Bikaner, Chakravyuh in Hanumangarh and Seema Sankalp in Sri Ganganagar have focused on identifying and freezing properties allegedly bought with narcotics proceeds under the NDPS Act. Under Operation Neelkanth, police ordered the freezing of properties worth about Rs.1 crore allegedly belonging to Mehrunishan, including a residence in Bhutto Ka Bas valued at Rs.36 lakh and a commercial plot in Rajiv Nagar valued at Rs.64 lakh. Properties worth another Rs.1.79 crore, linked to alleged syndicates associated with Sattar Ali and Shazad Ali, were also sealed in Bhutto Ka Bas. In Sri Ganganagar, police froze the Haveli Hotel on National Highway 62 in Suratgarh and a residential property in Paliwala after an investigation estimated assets allegedly linked to drug proceeds at Rs.6.17 crore. In Hanumangarh, police froze a newly constructed property valued at Rs.1.25 crore allegedly belonging to Sahjada Bibi. Investigations have also highlighted the scale of pharmaceutical drug distribution networks operating away from the international border. During a raid in Sindhi Mohalla in Hanumangarh Town, police seized 4,12,332 restricted tablets and capsules, including Pregabalin, Tapentadol and Buprenorphine, from a rented warehouse about 600 metres from the police station. Police estimated the seized drugs to be worth about Rs.17 crore. The enforcement drive has also included the destruction of seized narcotics. Under a coordinated operation overseen by Bikaner Range inspector general Om Prakash, police destroyed 82.181 kg of heroin and more than 672 kg of poppy straw in an industrial kiln. Om Prakash said police were increasingly targeting the financial foundations of narcotics networks rather than treating individual seizures as isolated cases. "The objective is not simply to arrest the person found with the drug. We are tracing the entire chain, including family members, properties, businesses and financial transactions connected with the proceeds," he said. "By attacking assets generated from narcotics, we can disrupt the network even when its principal operators are behind bars or attempting to remain underground."...