3 of Haryana family die of ‘drug overdose’ in 11 days

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 that Sonu and Charan Das were sons of his cousins. The family is engaged in labour works.

Ram Niwas told The Indian Express: “Initially, they began with hookah and biris, but later they switched to smack and drug injections which are easily available in the village. They sold almost all the utensils of the family to get drugs. We took them to the doctors in neighbouring towns, apart from Agroha medical college and PGIMS, Rohtak, but to no avail. On the day of his death, Charan Das was found in a bed with four used syringes. Another syringe for his next dose was also found beside him. All the three died of drug overdose. The availability of drugs in the village has risen in the past three-four years.”

Former village sarpanch Rajesh Dhillon said they have raised the issue of drugs before Uklana MLA Naresh Selwal who visited the affected family on Sunday. “The MLA has assured us that he would raise the issue in the upcoming Haryana assembly session which will commence on November 13. We will also meet the Superintendent of Police to apprise him of the situation,” he added.

Terming drug addiction a big menace, village sarpanch Darshan Singh said a week-long drug addiction camp was organised in the village a few months ago. During the camp, homeopathic and ayurvedic doctors gave medicines to the drug addicts.

Barwala police station SHO Inspector Raj Kumar said they have conducted raids to arrest the drug suppliers and have lodged cases against them. “Members of a specific community are behind the drug supply in the village who are good at hiding information about their activities,” said the SHO.

Hisar SP Shashank Kumar Sawan said: “We are not only trying to cut the drug supply chain but are also making efforts to sensitise people to the problems arising out of drug abuse. This has been a part of an intense state-level campaign during the past two-three years.”

The Hisar range police had recently stated that in a survey, it has identified nearly 6,500 drug addicts in 512 villages of Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Jind, Hansi, and Dabwali.

According to the police, counselling sessions have been arranged for 5,000 drug addicts, while treatment has begun for 3,400 of them. The police say that 750 addicts have already quit drugs, while some others have reduced their dose.

Hisar police range ADGP, M Ravi Kiran, said the police teams have been visiting door to door to identify the drug addicts so that their counselling and treatment can be initiated. Insisting the need to fill vacancies of psychiatrists at government hospitals, a police official associated with the campaign said participation of psychiatrists is very important while treaing such drug addicts.