Bathinda: A 32-year-old man from Harike Kalan village in Muktsar district allegedly died of a drug overdose late Thursday evening. Manpreet Singh’s body was found at the house of Krishan Singh, who has been accused of drug peddling by the locals.The bereaved family members, along with the locals, protested at the house of Krishan Singh and sought action against the accused. They demanded that the accused should be booked for murder, even as the police registered a case under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.Manpreet Singh was a graduate and also possessed a diploma in Nursery Teacher Training. However, he was unemployed and worked as a labourer.The villagers stated that the double-storey house, where Manpreet was found dead, was built with drug money and demanded its demolition.Harike village resident and Manpreet’s elder brother, Jagmeet Singh, said that around 7.45 pm, he got a call from his wife, and she informed him that Manpreet was found unconscious at the residence of Krishan Singh.I rushed to Krishan Singh’s residence and found Manpreet lying unconscious on the floor with a syringe injected into his left arm, said Jagmeet.Jagmeet said that Krishan Singh’s wife, Lakhbir Kaur, his sons, Jashandeep Singh and Gagandeep Singh; and Ravdeep Singh and Honey Singh from the village were present at the house. He held all of them responsible for his brother’s death.Jagmeet, along with the villagers, said they would not move Manpreet’s body out of Krishan Singh’s house till justice was served.Muktsar SSP Abhimanyu Rana told TOI, “A case under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 190 (unlawful assembly) of the BNS has been registered against five people named in the statement, and Honey Singh and Lakhbir Kaur have been arrested. Efforts are being made to arrest others.”The SSP also said the allegations that the family had amassed money through illegal means were being investigated.A few weeks ago, the residents of Nangal Kalan village in Mansa district marched toward Bawa Singh alias Moongi’s house and demanded that the structure be razed. The villagers accused Bawa Singh and his family of Amritpal Singh’s death. Amritpal allegedly died of a drug overdose on March 27.MSID:: 130491095 413 |
