Decades later, militancy-hit historic village in grip of narco-terrorism

Rampant drug abuse — this is the unanimous reply you get when you ask residents of Sultanwind village about the problems being faced by them. They are proved right when one goes around the village.

The Tribune team found a youth trying to sit on a bike unable to do so. He could not even stand properly. Harjinder Singh, a shop owner, said for past many years, the consecutive state governments had made tall claims to eradicate the menace, but the ground situation continued to remain the same.

“Despite being a historic village, which was visited by Sikh Gurus, you can see youth consuming drugs in open. Be it politicians or the police, everybody knows about the problem, but nobody offers a solution as they are hand in glove with those selling drugs,” he alleged.

During the dark days of militancy in Punjab, Sultanwind was infamous as Mini Khalistan with many terrorists hailing from the village. It is now plagued with the problem of drug addiction among the youth, said Ravinder Sultanwind, a social activist.

There have been several instances where youths died of a drug overdose. In September last year, a youth, Suraj Yadav, had died in the village following an alleged overdose of narcotics. His body was found at the residence of Monu and Happy, who too were addicts. Apart from Monu and his brother Happy, the local police had also booked Sajan for culpable homicide in the incident.

In June last year, an unidentified youth was found dead due to the similar reason. His body was spotted in the cremation ground of the village. Area residents had claimed that the victim was not from the village. They added that due to alleged open supply of drugs, addicts from other parts of the city visited the village to get a high.

Navtej Singh, a retired government employee, said since 2002, the problem had only increased. It led to other connecting health issues, including HIV and Hepatitis. Unfortunately, no government spared a thought to deal with the menace and bring it to an end, he added.

“More than militancy period, this narco-terrorism has taken a toll on this historic village. No government agency has prepared any data in this regard. The situation is alarming,” he pointed out.

Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar, MLA of Amritsar South Constituency under which the village falls, said the Punjab Government had been making wholehearted efforts to eradicate the menace. He said it would take time. The legislator said in the recent Budget, the government had allocated funds for a survey to identify victims.

He said he was making efforts to get a de-addiction centre opened in the area apart from renovating the sports stadium in the village. The representative of the area in the state Assembly said the government was dealing drug traffickers with an iron hand.

Punjab