Struggling with debts, 24-yr-old youth jumps into Kali Bein in Kapurthala

A 24-year-old youth from Kapurthala has died after jumping into the Kali Bein at Kapurthala this morning. Gurpreet Singh, a resident of village Pattewal in Kabirpur, jumped into the Bein after reportedly being upset over debts he had incurred. The boy’s family said he was depressed due to constant pressure from creditors seeking repayment.

Gurpreet, a driver for a local grocery store, had been struggling to manage his finances. He had taken loans and was paying instalments on a loading vehicle he had recently purchased. The stress of repaying the debts had taken a toll on him. Before taking the extreme step, Gurpreet called his cousin brother to inform him about his intentions.

A team of 10 divers from Kapurthala and Chandigarh searched for hours to find Gurpreet’s body, which was finally recovered in the afternoon. Gurpreet is survived by his parents, Ajit Singh and Manjit Kaur, and three siblings — an elder brother working in Dubai and two married sisters. The family, who are poor and do not own any land, had been pursuing contract farming.

German Singh, Gurpreet’s elder cousin, said, “Gurpreet had been upset for a long time over his debts. He was driving a vehicle for a local grocery store and paying instalments on the loading vehicle. He had been especially depressed since morning. I received a call from him saying he was going to take this step, but by the time we could act, it was too late.”

SHO Sultanpur Lodhi, Sonamdeep Kaur, said, “The deceased youth had called his elder brother before jumping into the Bein, informing him about his intentions. According to his mother, Manjit Kaur, Gurpreet had been upset for some time due to debts and loans.”

The body has been sent to the local civil hospital for the postmortem examination. Proceedings under Section 208 of the BNS (Section 174 of the IPC) have been initiated after Gurpreet’s mother’s statement.