Chandigarh, July 14: A death a day due to drugs: that has been the average for the past two months in Punjab.
Records accessed by The Tribune since May 15 show drugs being mentioned as the cause of death in the post-mortem reports of more than 60 young men at government hospitals across the state.
All victims, whose viscera has been sent for chemical examination, were in the age group of 18 to 35. Five of them were less than 21 and the youngest was 18.
These deaths have been reported from around 15 districts, mostly in Majha and Doaba. Health officials say the number of drug-related deaths may be much more, as in most such cases the cause is not reported truthfully by families due to social taboo, and also reluctance on the part of police to acknowledge deaths due to drugs.
Amritsar district tops the chart with over 10 deaths.
During a Cabinet meeting, Health Minister Brahm Mohindra stated there were only two confirmed and two suspected drug deaths on record. On the latest figures, he said he was not aware.
To initiate action under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the samples have been sent to the State Chemical Testing Laboratory, Kharar.
According to forensic experts, the analysis can reveal the nature of the substance (drug) taken, but not the quantity consumed or injected.
The recent deaths have shaken the government as the supply of adulterated heroin is suspected to be causing sudden deaths.
Chemical analysis can help zero in on the adulteration agent, which can provide vital information for developing treatment strategies as well as tracking the supply chain.
However, at the Kharar laboratory, where these samples will be tested, there is a huge backlog, with around 5,000 samples lying in the storeroom, waiting to be analysed in various cases. There is an around two-year waiting period for testing in routine case owing to the backlog.
But as the government is addressing the recent drug deaths with urgency, the tests in these cases have been sought to be done on priority.
Source Tribune India
