Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Four men, aged between 25 and 30, from Lakho Ke Behram village in Ferozepur district of Punjab died within two days in incidents suspected to be linked to past drug addiction, triggering protests and demands for strict action. All of them had been sent to de-addiction centres in the past due to a history of addiction, according to information from police sources.
One of the deceased, a mid-20s government employee working as a Class 4 staffer in the water supply department, died on the afternoon of September 29. He is survived by his wife, a minor daughter, and parents. Reports suggest he had a history of drug use.
The other three men died late evening on September 30 at their homes. One among them was also married and had a minor child. None of the families owned farmland, and all were daily wage earners except the government employee, according to local resident Tarsem Singh.
Families of the deceased, along with residents, staged a dharna on the state highway on Fazilka road Wednesday morning, demanding strict action against the local drug mafia. The protest continued for several hours before police arrived and assured the villagers that action would be taken, after which the dharna was lifted.
The first deceased was cremated on September 30, while the other three were cremated late Wednesday afternoon after the protest ended.
Residents said the deceased had been consuming drugs for at least five years, reportedly including some synthetic substances administered via syringes. “Our village is known for sending young men to the army, Punjab Police, and the Border Security Force (BSF), but now we are faced with this tragic loss,” said Tarsem Singh. He estimated that at least 200 youths from the village are serving in the armed forces or the police.
BJP national executive committee member and former Punjab minister Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi visited the village on Wednesday, met the bereaved families, and handed over Rs 33,000 each from his pocket.
Expressing shock over the deaths, Sodhi questioned the effectiveness of the Punjab government’s ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ (war against drugs) campaign and demanded immediate measures to curb drug trafficking in the state.
When The Indian Express contacted Manjeet Singh, Superintendent of Police (Detective), Ferozepur, he said, “The person who died on September 29 was cremated already, and their family did not inform anyone, so his cause of death is unknown. The three others had a history of drug use and had been sent to de-addiction centres two–three times in the past.”
“Out of these, two were very sick for the past six months, and drugs were not the cause of their condition. One weighed no more than 30 kg at the time of death, while another had a severe leg infection and was bedridden. So, both died due to prolonged illness,” he added.
Police sources revealed that the third had been discharged from a de-addiction centre just last week and, instead of using the de-addiction tablet under the tongue, he crushed it and injected it intravenously, after which he fell unwell and died later on. Whether he injected any other drug as well is not known as of now.
“A few antisocial elements instigated the Wednesday’s protest, but when we advised families to conduct post-mortems to ascertain the cause of death, none agreed. They cremated the bodies and lifted the dharna. While we sympathise with the families, drug overdose cannot be directly termed as the immediate cause of death.”
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
