A 25-year-old suspected drug dealer in Punjab’s Bathinda succumbed to his injuries after an angry mob attacked him. Vinod Kumar alias Monu Arora had been ousted from his village and forced to relocate to Tawandi Sabo. His father is also an undertrial in a drugs case.
The villagers were angry that police had not taken action against him when they filed a complaint about him selling drugs. After the incident, when Vinod was taken to hospital, the villagers surrounded it in the protest. They also allegedly stopped the ambulance from reaching the hospital when Vinod was supposed to be referred to a hospital in Faridkot.
Police have registered a murder case against unknown persons.
The drug epidemic in Punjab was a key election issue. Once a rich agricultural state, the economic growth of Punjab has stalled owing to rampant consumption of drugs, easily smuggled in from Afghanistan or Pakistan, by unemployed youth.
Video Editor: Mohd Irhsad Alam
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