‘Chitta available like salt..’: In a Punjab village thrust into the limelight, grief and anger
Here is the full article from The Indian Express:
In Toor Banzara, a village along the Patiala-Sangrur highway in Punjab’s Dirba constituency, Gulzar Singh — a 53-year-old Dalit agricultural labourer — died after allegedly consuming a poisonous substance on Monday night. His death has thrust the village into the spotlight and raised hard questions about the drug crisis gripping Punjab.
On Sunday, Gulzar publicly questioned Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema at the village gurdwara about the easy availability of chitta (synthetic drugs) in the village, saying his own son was addicted and could obtain drugs easily.
After the meeting, his wife Pal Kaur alleged, two policemen dropped him home, and later the village sarpanch told him he would have to apologise for speaking out. On Monday, panchayat members allegedly came to Gulzar’s home and pressured him to apologise to the sarpanch’s husband, Baljit Singh alias Raj, by touching his feet.
“My husband felt deeply humiliated,” Pal Kaur said.
Gulzar left home that day and later fell from his bicycle at his uncle’s house. He told his uncle he had consumed poison because the sarpanch, panchayat members, and others had humiliated him for questioning the finance minister.
His son Sehbaz Singh (23) described a desperate rush between hospitals — Sangrur Civil Hospital, Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, a private hospital, and finally DMCH Ludhiana — where Gulzar died that night around 11:30 pm.
Gulzar’s anguish had been building for years around his eldest son Prabhjot Singh’s drug addiction.
Prabhjot acknowledged his habit: “Yes, I got into this habit a few years ago. Chitta is available like salt. You can get it in Dirba and many other places. You only need money for a dose.” He said he earns Rs 800 a day from daily-wage work and spends it on drugs.
The addiction has touched more than one household. “My son died because of drug addiction two years ago, and another nephew died in July. Both lived in this same lane. Gulzar was terrified that his son could meet the same fate,” said Gurmail Kaur, Gulzar’s sister-in-law.
Gulzar had recorded a video message before his death about the alleged humiliation. When AAP leader Jasbir Kaur Shergill insisted the voice in the video was AI-generated, villagers became agitated.
Police have booked and arrested five people — Baljit Singh alias Raj, sarpanch Baljinder Kaur, Sukhraj Singh alias Sukha Conductor, panchayat member Vicky, and Gona Singh — under provisions relating to abetment of suicide and the SC/ST Act.
A four-member SIT under the supervision of ADGP Naunihal Singh was constituted. The government also agreed to provide a job to one family member and compensation under the SC/ST Act. The cremation remained tense, with some demanding Cheema’s name be added to the FIR.
“Gulzar publicly raised the issue of drug availability, and I listened to him. I told the police to take action against those supplying drugs. I don’t know what happened on Monday. The police are investigating, and they will act against whoever is responsible. No culprit will be spared,” Cheema told The Indian Express.
In Toor Banzara, the questions stretch far beyond one man’s death — they are about a drug that villagers say is easily available, about families burying young men, about a father’s fear that addiction could kill his son, and about the humiliation Gulzar’s family says he carried home after speaking publicly about the problem.
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