In just one week, 5 youths die of drug overdose in Bathinda
Sukhmeet Bhasin
Bathinda, July 3
As many as five deaths have been reported due to drug overdose in the district in the past one week.
On July 2, a youth died of drug overdose at Goniana Mandi. His body was found near Ram Bagh, with a syringe stuck in the arm. A volunteer of Sahara Welfare Society, an NGO, took the body to the Civil Hospital, where the process is on to identify him.
On July 1, 22-year-old Mani Singh died after he was allegedly injected with “chitta” at Jethuke village in the district. On the statement of his father, Sukhpal Singh, the police registered a case against Yodha Singh, Rajveer Singh, alias Bido, and Bhaga Singh, all residents of the village.
Must act now
We need strict action against drug smugglers & improved rehabilitation programmes. Our youth are falling prey to this menace and we cannot simply stand around and watch. —NK Gosian, Social activist
Kartik Arora (27), a BCA graduate, was found dead due to overdose at Bir Talab on June 28. In this case, too, an NGO worker found the body and transported it to the Civil Hospital. The Bathinda police, on the statement of the deceased’s father, Bheem Sain, registered a case against local residents Shivam Singla, Veeru and Boota Singh at Canal Colony police station.
Another youth, Khushdeep Singh (23) of Chak Fateh Singh, who had ingested drugs intravenously, was found dead at a closed petrol station near Bhucho Kanchiyan on June 28. The police are conducting an investigation following a statement by his family.
In another incident, on June 25, one Lakhwinder Singh (25), the only brother of four sisters, died of overdose at Fatehgarh Nau Abad village in the district. His father, Gurmail Singh, a daily-wager, said his son had been addicted to “chitta” for some time.
Bathinda City SP Narinder Singh said the police had been constantly running a campaign against drugs, and search operations were being carried out to nab smugglers. A campaign was also being conducted to make people aware about the harmful effects of drugs, and take them along in the fight against the menace.
Every day, about 200 to 250 people come to de-addiction centres in the district for treatment. Dr Arun Bansal, a psychiatrist at Bhai Mani Singh Government Hospital in Bathinda, warned that all drugs were harmful to the body and society, but “chitta” was the most dangerous as it directly affected the mind. If a person was unable to get drugs, his condition was akin to that of fish out of water and was forced to end his life. Consuming the drug in a high quantity was life-threatening, he said, adding that several cases have come to light wherein a husband and wife have become addicted to “chitta”. Addicts must make use of the special initiatives by the state government get rid of addiction, he added.