25-Year-Old Loses Battle to Drugs in Punjab, Video of Son Clinging to Body Goes Viral

Chandigarh: The drug menace in Punjab claimed another victim on Tuesday as a 25-year-old lost his life after injecting himself wrongly.

The body of Gurbhej, a resident of Tarn Taran’s Dhotian village, was discovered in the washroom by his 60-year-old mother. An inconsolable Savinder Kaur said, “Gurbhej lost his life when he took an injection this morning. My son got addicted to drugs even before he touched [the age of] 20.”

Former sarpanch Ranjit Singh Rana said, “When Gurbhej went to take bath this morning, he tried to inject himself. However, he injected himself wrongly, which killed him. When he didn’t return, his mother went looking for him and found him dead in the washroom with the syringe in his body. After Gurbhej’s father passed away, he was the only earning member of the family. With his demise, they have no support now.”

The 25-year-old also left behind two children. The visuals of Gurbhej’s son clinging to his body soon went viral, highlighting how drugs had ruined several families in the state. Hugging the body, eight-year-old Jaspreet kept repeating that his father was asleep and would drop him to school once he woke up.

Gurbhej’s addiction had torn apart his family. Upset with his ways, his wife had divorced him and was living with her parents. After Gurbhej’s demise, his mother is the only support system for his children. However, they have no source of income or family member who can lend a hand.

The state has been plagued by the drug menace and has lost several youth. The Congress’ election manifesto for Punjab assembly polls stated that drug supply, distribution and consumption will be eradicated in four weeks. Capt Amarinder Singh promised to the people of Punjab that the abuse of 'chitta' would be eliminated in four weeks.

(With inputs from Sidharth Arora)