Drug addiction snuffs out another life in Amritsar

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Amritsar, May 2

Drug abuse snuffed out another life in the holy city. A 40-year-old man reportedly died due to the menace in the Kale Ghanupur area here on Monday. This was the third death due to drug abuse in the family.

The incident has sparked a great resentment in the area as residents alleged that change in the ruling dispensation has changed nothing at the ground level as far as this rampant drug addiction was concerned.

The victim even got infected with HIV due to the alleged sharing of syringe for consumption of drugs. The police took the body of the deceased in custody and sent it for autopsy for ascertaining the cause behind the death. They said the investigations were on and appropriate action would be taken.

Family members of the deceased wishing not to be named said the victim fell in the deadly trap of drug abuse around three years ago. He used to consume medicinal drugs besides smack and heroin. Earlier, his father and brother, too, had lost their lives due to the consumption of drugs.

“We tried convincing him to shun drugs, but in vain. He had started taking intravenous injection to get high instantly,” they said, adding that his habit also led to the HIV infection. Today, when we tried waking him up in the morning, he did not respond.” He apparently died in the midnight. It was also learnt that he was arrested by the police with narcotics and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. He had recently come out of jail.

Situation grim in border belt

• Having a close proximity with the international border with Pakistan, rampant drug abuse has assumed alarming proportions in the holy city. Successive governments claim to eradicate the problem by taking ‘stern’ steps, but the situation remains grim at the ground level.
• Rattan Singh Randhawa, a farmer leader and resident of the area, pointed out that people voted for a change with a hope of sincere efforts to end the menace. Nevertheless, the current dispensation has failed to take concrete steps so far, he said.