Two brothers found dead in Punjab’s Patti, family blames drug addiction
PTC Web Desk: With Parvinder Singh Jhota and Gulzaar Singh cases still fresh, two brothers were found dead in their room in Patti town on Sunday. Their family says both were struggling with drug addiction. It is the latest in a series of suspected drug-related deaths in Punjab.
The brothers have been identified as Gurdeep Singh, 36, and Sona Singh, 28. They were the sons of Jagir Singh and lived in Patti.
Their mother, Surinder Kaur, and sister, Satwinder Kaur, told mediapersons that both men used heroin, known locally as chitta, along with narcotic pills. According to them, the brothers went to sleep in their room on Saturday night. When the family went to check on them early on Sunday morning, they were found dead.
The family has alleged that the deaths were linked to drug abuse.
The family belongs to an economically weaker section and has no house of its own. For the last four years, they have been living in a room built inside the block office premises of Taran Wala Government Elementary School in Patti.
Relatives say both brothers worked hard to support the household. Sona Singh was unmarried. Gurdeep Singh was married and had three children. His wife has reportedly been living separately for the past few years and his 12-year-old child stays with the grandmother.
Surinder Kaur and Satwinder Kaur have asked the administration and social organisations to help the family financially. They also want support for the education and upbringing of the children left behind.
Jhota murder case: the drug issue in focus
The deaths in Patti come at a time when the drug problem has become a major talking point in Punjab. Anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead by a medical store owner after he questioned him over alleged drug sales in Mansa. The killing took place on October 13 and the CBI has since registered an FIR and taken over the investigation after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann transferred the case at the family’s demand.
Mansa Drug Inspector Naresh Kumar and DSP Harjinder Singh Gill have been suspended following the case. The CBI will also look into whether officials ignored warnings about illegal drugs. The Akal Takht Jathedar has given Jhota the status of a martyr of the Sikh community.
Gulzar Singh case: questions raised over a minister
Another case that has drawn attention is the death of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur district last month. Gulzar Singh died by suicide after questioning Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema about drugs and his death caused outrage across the state, with opposition parties demanding an investigation and the minister’s resignation.
The Punjab Police have formed a Special Investigation Team, headed by an ADGP-rank officer, to look into the circumstances of his death. The police have registered a case against the village sarpanch and four others, while Cheema is not named as an accused in the FIR and the investigation is continuing.
For families like the one in Patti, these debates are not about politics. They are about daily survival, lost sons and children left without support. As the Jhota and Gulzar cases continue to make headlines, the deaths of the two brothers have once again raised the question of how deeply drugs have reached ordinary households in Punjab.
- PTC NEWS
