UT youth dies of ‘drug overdose’ at Nabha, woman sarpanch among 7 booked
A woman sarpanch among seven persons were booked after a 28-year-old youth from Chandigarh allegedly died due to drug overdose.
Inspector Jaswinder Singh, Station House Officer, Kotwali police station, Nabha, said four female drug traffickers, including a woman sarpanch, had been arrested in the case.
In a complaint to the police, Kushal Kumar of Sector 41, Chandigarh, stated that his son Sahil Sharma was addicted to drugs for about six years. Sahil’s friend Sukhi from Nabha took him to a drug rehabilitation centre in Nabha about two months ago. However, they later discovered that Sahil was roaming around in Nabha, particularly in Rohti Channa village, infamous for drug dealers and addicts, both men and women.
On January 30, Sahil allegedly died due to drug overdose. The complainant alleged that if Sahil’s friends had taken care of him and sought medical treatment in time, his life could have been saved.
He claimed that his son and his friends used to purchase drugs from Jasveer Kaur, Charno, Manjeet Kaur, Amanpreet Singh, Gurkirat Singh and Vikramjeet Singh, all residents of Rohati Channa.
The women allegedly involved in drug dealing had cases registered against them at different police stations. They frequently secured bail and resumed their activities. As per investigation, the village sarpanch, Gurpreet Kaur, was allegedly involved in supporting drug peddlers, helping them secure bail from court.
Following the complaint, a case under Sections 105 (culpable homicide) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered against Jasveer Kaur, Charno, Manjeet Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur (Sarpanch), Amanpreet Singh, Gurkirat Singh and Vikramjeet Singh. Jasveer, Charno, Manjeet and Gurpreet Kaur have been arrested in the case.
According to the police, a sum of Rs 20,000, alleged to be drug money, was recovered from the sarpanch. Further investigations revealed that she had taken Rs 20,000 from Manjeet Kaur while the latter claimed that she had taken Rs 30,000 to help other drug peddlers secure bail. The remaining amount was yet to be recovered, the police said.