War on Drugs: Grandfather’s efforts end in vain as 21-year-old dies in Patiala village

Avtar Singh, 77, of Loha Kheri village in Rajpura tehsil of Patiala district lost his 21-year-old grandson, Pushpinder Singh, to drug overdose on November 9 last year

Patiala: Avtar Singh, 77, of Loha Kheri village in Rajpura tehsil of Patiala district lost his 21-year-old grandson, Pushpinder Singh, to drug overdose on November 9 last year.

Pushpinder Singh, 21, died of drug overdose last year.

“First, I lost my son and his wife left home. After that, my grandson took to drugs. I got him admitted to Punjab Red Cross Saket Hospital in Patiala twice for de-addiction. After he was discharged, he gave up drugs and stayed with me for three months. Since one of my sons is in the US and the other in South Korea, they suggested I send Pushpinder abroad, too. On Diwali, he left for France but he was stopped mid-way and sent back,” says Avtar of his efforts to keep his grandson out of trouble.

“Pushpinder was dejected on his return. Two men known to him took him along and left him back home in an unconscious state around 2am on November 9,” says Avtar.

Pushpinder’s aunt, Pinder Kaur, recalls, “He had been consuming intoxicants earlier also but he had never been in such a bad condition. In the end, we lost him. His case is still being investigated.”