Punjab Police take addict to hospital after video from Kapurthala village goes viral

Police traced a 32-year-old Kapurthala-based drug user and admitted him for drug de-addiction treatment after a video of him, deeply under the influence of drugs, went viral on social media.

The Kapurthala police confirmed that in the video, the youth was under the influence of drugs and also had a long history of prior drug use.

Hailing from the Boot village under the Subhanpur police station in Kapurthala, the 32-year-old is currently under de-addiction treatment.

Amid a series of videos of stoned or intoxicated youths in the state going viral on social media, the video from the Hamira village in Kapurthala signals yet again the alarming impacts of drug use in the region. The police also cautioned on the impacts of such videos on victims.

In the video, a youth can be seen motionless for minutes, bending over and grappling with a bag (which he has considerable difficulty in picking up).

Standing in the middle of a busy road, he wavers over his belongings as passersby look at him, shocked, as they move past him. The video ends with the youth picking up his bag after much effort and walking down the road.

Near the youth, is a sign which says 'Hamira (village) to Lakhan Khole' (village).

Notably, Hamira, falling in Kapurthala district, is also an identified drug spot in the Kartarpur-Subhanpur-Kapurthala drug belt.

While the police said the video was from three days ago, the youth was traced and admitted to a de-addiction centre at a village in Kartarpur by the Kapurthala police after investigations were launched. Police said a probe is still on into the suppliers of drugs to the said youth.

Kapurthala SSP Garuva Toora said, "The youth was traced and identified based on the video, which is three days old. He was found to be so deeply under the influence of drugs that it wasn't even possible, initially, to record his statement. He had gone to Hamira, which is a known drug hot spot, to procure drugs. Has been admitted for drug de-addiction treatment days ago. There is also a question mark on how these youths are being allowed by their parents to walk into such areas. There must be checks and balances from the family side."

The SSP added, "There are also questions on the purposes of making such videos and oversharing them. These end up as a means of harassment for the drug user

who risks being ostracized by society. Caution must be exercised on the consequences this may have for such an individual. Further probe into the matter is on and suppliers are also being traced."