The Fact News Service
Chandigarh, October 19
The death of two brothers due to drug addiction on the same day in Punjab’s Amritsar and a viral video of drug abuse inside a jail where one of the brothers was lodged has put the focus back on the drug menace in the state.
According to a relative, Hargun (24) and Rohan (20), who hailed from a poor family in Amritsar, were addicted to drugs and died on October 15. Hargun was lodged in Amritsar jail after the police allegedly caught him with drugs in his possession. His health deteriorated after he started suffering from withdrawal symptoms and he was admitted to a hospital where he died, the relative added. Rohan, who was admitted to a drug de-addiction centre, was brought home for Hargun’s cremation. According to the relative, he got hold of heroin and died due to a drug overdose on the same day.
Days later, on Tuesday, a video purportedly showing inmates taking heroin inside Amritsar jail went viral. Hargun was lodged in the same jail. The sarpanch of Manawala village, Sukhraj Singh, shared the video with the media and said that it was from October. “I was arrested in an assault case two weeks ago and was in jail for five days. I noticed that Amritsar jail was a haven for drug smugglers and addicts. I have arranged this video from sources who wanted this to come out,” the sarpanch said.
