Jalandhar: 27-yr-old dies of drug overdose

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 23

On January 1, 2017, Kashmir Singh lost his nephew to drug overdose. Last night, he got the shock of his life as drugs claimed the life of his 27-year-old son.

The victim, Mandeep Singh, a resident of Mohalla Kille Wala in Kapurthala, died of a drug overdose on Sunday night. Mandeep was found lying on the floor of the bathroom at his home by his mother and was declared dead shortly afterwards. This is the new addition to the long list of deaths due to drug overdose, which has rocked Punjab in the past few days.

Kashmir Singh (60), father of Mandeep Singh, said his repeated pleas to the police went unheard even as the drug menace is constantly spreading its tentacles in their area.

This is the second drug death case in Kashmir’s family in six years. He says another nephew is also addicted to drugs. Mandeep was married and had a two-year-old child.

Kashmir Singh said his son injected himself last night and went to the bathroom. When Mandeep didn’t answer despite his mother’s repeated knocking on the door, the family opened the door and found him dead. Kashmir said Mandeep brought drugs from nearby area.

Kashmir (60) alleged: “We have been freed from the clutches of the British, but I do not know if we will ever get rid of drugs. This is the second drug death in the family, mediapersons are calling me after my son’s death but no one came all these years despite pleas of drug being sold in our area. I have been an informer with Punjab Police since 1996. I also helped the police to catch stashes of chitta - including the seisure of 52 kg chitta. I also assisted the police in raids last year. I have been doing this without a salary and I watch helplessly as my young son has been claimed by drugs.”

While Kashmir said despite being an informer who helped the police without getting any pay, he did not even receive any compensation from the police, the Kapurthala police said they would look into the matter.

SSP, Kapurthala, Rajbachan Singh Sandhu said, “I am not aware of whether the father of the youth was a police informer. But we will have a senior official deputed to look into it. People in the network often turn informers for the police, but since we don’t know about this case, I will have it verified.”

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