How serious is drug issue in bypoll-bound Tarn Taran? AAP worker’s death due to ‘overdose’ and misuse of opioids paint a grim picture

Sandhu is now contesting the Tarn Taran Assembly bypoll on an AAP ticket, and Sohan Singh has been looking after his campaign in Muradpur. In the Khuvi Vehra area of Muradpur, Sohan Singh has promised to resolve the issue of the clogged sewage system.

“There was an old well here which turned into a gutter. It remains choked,” said Sohan. Muradpur is the home of Lovepreet Singh, an AAP worker who died due to alleged drug overdose two months before Sohan and Sandhu joined the AAP.

“In Muradpur alone, around a hundred youth have died due to drugs in the last two years,” Sohan added.

Lovepreet left behind a young daughter and his parents. “He wasn’t a regular addict,” said Rinku, another addict enrolled at a local OST (opioid substitution therapy) centre.

Lovepreet’s daughter with his photo. (Express Photo)

“Lovepreet used to take drugs occasionally. I don’t know how the overdose killed him. It is very sad,” said Rinku.

Misguided beliefs

According to him, the reasons behind youth addiction vary — depression, lack of employment, and even misguided beliefs about enhanced sexual performance. “But once they start, they can’t stop. It ruins families.”

Rinku himself bears the scars of addiction — multiple injection marks run across his forearms. He pulled out a banned tablet from his purse.

Rinku with a banned tablet in his palm. (Express Photo)

“We get this medicine at the OST centre. It’s meant to be dissolved under the tongue, but when we inject it, the effect is stronger,” he confessed.

According to norms, Buprenorphine, a controlled drug used for opioid addiction treatment, cannot be provided to the addict to carry home. “These medicines are meant for controlled consumption, but they are smuggled out and misused,” said Sukhbir Singh, who is running an NGO working on rehabilitation.

“The government runs awareness campaigns, but they are only for show. There’s no proper system to keep addicts under long-term care,” Said Sukhbir.

According to government data, Tarn Taran has around 30,000 enrolled addicts.

Sohan Singh, reflecting on his years in politics, said every government has failed to address the issue. “When I was with the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and Harmeet Singh Sandhu was MLA, the problem was the same. We alerted the party about local drug sellers, but no one listened. There were some people who were selling drugs. We told the party but party didn’t listen. Things got worse during the Congress government, and even today, the situation has not changed.”

“Problem is that those who sold drugs in the SAD(B) government joined the Congress in 2017 and then joined the AAP in 2022,” said Sohan Singh.
Sohan Singh is worried about Rinku, who finds it difficult to search for the veins to inject the drug.

In May earlier this year, a man Muradpur died after attempting to inject drugs into a private part of his body, a sign of how far the desperation has spread.

“We have had enough campaigns,” said Sukhbir Singh. “If any government truly wants to end this, it must first fix the health system. Only then can addicts be treated and reintegrated into society.”

Tarn Taran bypoll

The Assembly seat goes to bypoll due to the death of the incumbent AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal. The polling will be held on November 11 and the counting on November 14. The major candidates in the fray are Harmeet Singh Sandhu (AAP), Bibi Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa (SAD), Karanbir Singh Burj (Congress), and Harjeet Singh Sandhu (BJP).