Tarn Taran youth Dilraj Singh dies in Portugal

Dilraj Singh (18), son of Heera Singh of Tharu village in Tarn Taran district, has died in Portugal under mysterious circumstances.

Dilraj had gone to Portugal in search of livelihood, hoping to improve his family’s financial condition. His death has cast a pall of gloom over the village. His father, a policeman, said with a heavy heart that he had sent his son abroad for a better future after mortgaging five acres of land to raise Rs 20 lakh.

He said that due to the lack of employment opportunities in Punjab and fears about the growing tendency among youth towards bad company and drugs, he decided to send his son to Portugal at the age of 18, soon after he completed his Plus Two.

According to the family, Dilraj was living in Portugal and waiting for the completion of his visa process so that he could obtain a two-year visa. His father said that many Punjabi youths are living in difficult conditions there, and his son was also staying in a shared room while struggling to settle.

On Saturday night, the family received information about Dilraj’s death. It was learnt that he had a hole in his heart during childhood, but he had gone abroad determined to overcome his circumstances.

The bereaved family has appealed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the local MLA to help bring Dilraj’s body back to Punjab at the earliest.

A few days earlier, another local resident, Deepkaran Singh, had died in a road accident in the United States.