Youth found dead with syringe injected into arm

Bathinda: A 20-year-old youth was found dead with a syringe injected into one of his arms in the Nati Basti area of Bathinda, marking the fourth drug-related fatality in Punjab in the last six days.The members of Naujawan Welfare Society – an NGO – found the body lying on the road Sunday morning and shifted it to the civil hospital."Around 7:30 am, we received information about a body lying on the road. Our team reached the spot and found a syringe injected into the youth's arm, and we immediately informed the police," said Sonu Maheshwari, head of the NGO.The police identified the deceased as Bhondu, a native of Alwar in Rajasthan. He was presently living in the Janta Nagar area of Bathinda.SHO, Civil Lines police station, inspector Ravinder Singh said the exact cause of death was yet to be ascertained. A case under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) has been registered against unidentified persons, he added.On April 9, two suspected drug overdose deaths were reported in Raipur Arayian village in Kapurthala district, where two men died within hours of each other.In one case, the police booked four persons for allegedly administering drugs and arrested the main accused.On April 7, a man in Sultanpur Lodhi died of health complications linked to prolonged drug abuse.Residents said relapse among addicts and easy availability of drugs continued to fuel the crisis, even as the authorities stepped up the enforcement and de-addiction efforts.