Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala): Close on the heels of a family in Sultanpur Lodhi losing its fifth son to drugs, another family in nearby Gazipur village has lost its second son, allegedly to drug abuse, within the past seven months.Twenty-year-old Baljit Singh was found dead on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. His parents said their elder son, Gagandeep, had died due to drug abuse in September last year, while Baljit was also battling addiction.“Both my sons have died because of drugs. Please stop this menace so no more families lose their children in Punjab,” said a distraught father, Lakhwinder Singh Lakha. He said Baljit had left home on Friday evening and did not return. “We kept searching for him through the night. On Saturday morning, we approached the Mothanwal police post, where we were told a young man’s body had been found. When we reached there, it turned out to be our son,” he said.Baljit’s mother, Rajji, said her son had taken Rs 200 from her, saying he was going for a haircut. “He never came back. We couldn’t sleep all night. In the morning, I went with my nephews towards Lattianwal village, which is infamous for drug supply. That’s when we learnt he had died,” she said, breaking down. She added that while the family had hoped to improve their modest living conditions as their sons grew older, both had succumbed to addiction.Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora said the death appeared to be drug-related. “A syringe was found near the body. It was sent for testing, but the lab reported that no drug residue was detected in it,” he said.Police said the body was recovered near village Sencha, close to Lattianwal.Earlier, on the night of April 7 and the following day, residents of Talwandi Madho village had confronted suspected drug peddlers and addicts travelling to and from Lattianwal. Videos recorded by locals purportedly showed youths admitting to sourcing chitta from the village. On April 8, police carried out a joint operation, following which more than 25 addicts were admitted to the Sultanpur Lodhi de-addiction centre. One peddler and three addict-cum-peddlers were booked by Shahkot police.
