A heartbreaking picture has emerged from Pandori Mohalla near Sultanpur Lodhi police station in Punjab’s Kapurthala district, where an elderly mother claimed she has lost four of her five sons to drug addiction, while her last surviving son is now bedridden with a severe liver infection allegedly caused by substance abuse.
The woman, made an emotional appeal through the media to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, urging him to save her fifth son. “I am the mother of five sons drugs snatched four from me, and the fifth is lying on the bed even doctors have given up,” she said.
The tragedy has sparked outrage among local women, many of whom alleged that drugs, particularly “chitta”, are still being sold openly in the locality, including near the walls of the Sultanpur Lodhi police station. Residents claimed masked traffickers arrive on motorcycles, hand over packets, and flee without fear.
The issue, locals said, is not limited to a single family. Several women from the neighbourhood shared similar stories of losing two or three sons, while others said their only breadwinners had fallen prey to addiction. The continuing deaths have left entire families devastated and plunged the area into mourning.
Women in the neighbourhood also questioned the state government’s claims of a “war against drugs”, alleging that the campaign has had little visible impact on the ground. One grieving grandmother pointed towards her young grandchildren and pleaded, “Our sons are gone, at least save these innocent children.”
The residents further alleged that drug addiction had destroyed the social and economic fabric of the area, with many youths forced to sell household belongings to sustain their habit.
Following the commotion, police officials from Sultanpur Lodhi police station reached the neighbourhood. ASI Subegh Singh said the recent incidents had been taken into cognisance and police patrolling in the area had been intensified.
The incident has once again raised serious concerns over the persistence of drug abuse in Punjab, particularly in areas surrounding religious and residential localities, despite repeated official claims of a crackdown.
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