Malerkotla: Death of addict leaves grandfather devastated
Mahesh Sharma
Malerkotla, July 22
The death of 26-year-old Kamalveer Singh due to drug abuse has left his septuagenarian grandfather, Pritam Singh of Ballewal village, devastated. Kamalveer was a toddler when his mother died in 1998 and his father remarried and chose to live separately, leaving the child with his grandparents.
Pritam, a farmer with modest landholding, laments that the sacrifices he and his family made to bring up Kamalveer ended in tragedy after the young man got addicted to drugs, finally dying of overdose on Thursday.
“I don’t understand why the dearest member of my family was taken away from me,” sighed Pritam. He said his elder son had got married in 1994 and the couple was blessed with the boy in 1998. The same year, however, Kamalveer’s mother died, and his father remarried in 1999 and moved out with his new wife.
Kamalveer was left in the care of Pritam and his wife, who left no stone unturned in their efforts to bring him up like a prince.
Pritam owned 13 bighas of land, of which he transferred two bighas to Kamalveer. Eventually, the young men fell into bad company and started consuming drugs. Almost half the land owned by Kamalveer, meanwhile, was acquired for a highway project. He was paid Rs 15 lakh, and that windfall ensured that he remained trapped in the tentacles of drug abuse, though he held on to his job of a bus driver.
According to Pritam, Kamalveer was admitted to a de-addiction centre for three months. However, the desired results could not be achieved.
Pritam narrated his tragic story to officials on Friday, though he did not want action against anyone for the young man’s death. However, following discussions among senior police officials, an FIR was registered under Section 105 of the BNS against unidentified persons at the Ahmedgarh Sadar police station.
