The death of a 22-year-old in Punjab's Moga following a decade-long battle with drug addiction has put their village in the spotlight, especially after his mother lamented the ease of access of drugs at the grassroots.
Holding a picture of her son Jaskaran Singh in her hands, his mother said, "Chitta is available in the village like sugar."
Chitta is the local name for heroin in Punjab.
Jaskaran Singh, a resident of the Jalalabad village in the Dharamkot area, died on September 21.
His parents say they borrowed money for his treatment, sending him to a private de-addiction centre for six months, but he relapsed after returning home.
"My son was addicted to chitta for 10 years. We took loans and spent thousands on his treatment. He stayed at a de-addiction centre for six months, but relapsed after coming home," his father Sikander Singh said.
He revealed that Jaskaran's addiction was so bad that he sold everything in the house, even his mother's clothes, to fund his addiction.
"In the end, we had nothing left to sell and no money to take him to the hospital. We had to ask others for help," he said.
Jaskaran, the elder of two brothers, allegedly used drugs through injections. His family says he spent his daily-wage earnings on drugs.
His mother said, "My son is gone, but 10 to 12 other young men are also trapped in drugs. I don't want another mother to lose her son."
The family has demanded action against those allegedly supplying drugs in the village and surrounding areas, saying authorities must establish how the drug supply continues.
Police have not confirmed that drug use caused Jaskaran's death. Dharamkot SHO Jitender Singh said the exact cause of death is yet to be established and will be known after the post-mortem examination.
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