The scourge of drugs seems to be rearing its ugly head, as three young men from a dalit family in Pabra village of Hisar district (Haryana) died of “drug overdose” in a span of just 11 days. Family members said the men, aged between 20 and 30, had been using smack and drugs for about a year.
The police said that they had not been informed about this incident but they said that they were trying to stop the purchase of drugs, without bringing awareness campaign about the use of drugs.
The three deceased are: Sonu Nagar (20), Charan Das Nagar (22) and Vinod Nagar (30). Sonu died on October 29, Vinod on November 5 and Charan Das on November 8. Vinod’s brother Ram Niwas said Sonu and Charan Das were his cousin’s sons. The family is busy with activities.
Ram Niwas told The Indian Express: “Initially, they started with hookah and biris, but later they switched to injecting smack and drugs that are easily available in the area. They sell almost all the family utensils to get drugs. We took them to doctors in neighboring towns, apart from Agroha medical college and PGIMS, Rohtak, but to no avail. On the day he died, Charan Das was found in bed with four used syringes. Another syringe for his next dose was also found near him. All three died of drug overdoses. The availability of drugs has increased in the last three to four years.”
Former village sarpanch Rajesh Dhillon said they raised the issue of drugs before Uklana MP Naresh Selwal who visited the affected family on Sunday. “The MLA has confirmed that he will raise this issue in the upcoming Haryana Assembly which will begin on November 13. We will also meet the Superintendent of Police to inform him about the situation,” he added.
Explaining that drug addiction is a major threat, village Sarpanch Darshan Singh said a week-long camp for drug addicts was organized in the area a few months ago. During the camp, homeopathic and ayurvedic doctors give medicine to drug addicts.
Inspector of Barwala police station, Raj Kumar, said that they raided to arrest drug dealers and file charges against them. “Certain members of the community are the ones who control the supply of drugs in the area and are able to hide information about their activities,” said the SHO.
Hisar SP Shashank Kumar Sawan said: “We are not only trying to break the supply chain of drugs but also making efforts to create awareness among people about the problems caused by drug abuse. This has been part of an intense campaign at the state level over the last two to three years.”
The Hisar police recently said that in a survey, they found nearly 6,500 drug addicts in 512 areas of Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Jind, Hansi and Dabwali.
According to the police, counseling sessions have been organized for 5,000 drug addicts, and 3,400 of them have started treatment. Police say 750 addicts have given up drugs, while others have reduced their dosage.
The ADGP of Hisar police, M Ravi Kiran, said that a police team visited house to house to identify drug addicts to start counseling and treatment. Emphasizing the need to fill the vacancies of psychiatrists in public hospitals, a police officer who is involved in this campaign said that the participation of psychiatrists is very important when treating such drug addicts.