Clip of Jalandhar doctor snorting drug goes viral, probe ordered

Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh has ordered an inquiry after a video went viral allegedly showing a “doctor” consuming drugs. The doctor in the video is reportedly based in Jalandhar.

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When asked about the issue on Thursday, on the sidelines of the “CM Di Yogshala” event, the Health Minister said an inquiry had been marked into the matter. Civil Surgeon Dr Gurmeet Lal and the Rama Mandi police would conduct the inquiry.

Notably, the video shows a man in casual clothes laying out a white powder on a table with the help of a credit card and sniffing it. In the video, a woman (who is shooting the video) can be heard. At the end of the video, the man is seen trying to grab the camera from her. Later, the video went viral, with people claiming that the man was a doctor.

The Health Department has been asked to depute a drug inspector to carry out sampling and to assist in the probe.

While the Civil Surgeon was unavailable for comment, Rama Mandi SHO Sukhdev Singh said, “The Health Department will investigate the issue. We will provide required assistance to them.”

Meanwhile, purported CCTV footage of the same doctor has also gone viral on social media. In the second clip, he is seen slapping a woman as other people look on. However, The Tribune could not independently verify the veracity of the claims regarding the identity of the doctor.

Speaking on the issue, Balbir Singh said, “An inquiry is already in progress. The scourge of drugs isn’t associated with any community or class of people. It affects youngsters the most, but it could affect anyone... I had marked a police and departmental inquiry almost immediately after the video came to my notice.”

Asked if the identity of the man had been established, the minister said, “Everything has been done... The inquiry is almost final.”