Kapurthala: A heartbreaking case from Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district has once again highlighted the deep impact of drug abuse in Punjab, where a mother has lost all her five sons over the past eight years.
Manjeet Kaur, a resident of Pandori Mohalla, lost her youngest son Sonu on Tuesday at a government hospital in Amritsar due to drug-related complications. With his death, all five of her sons have now succumbed to addiction.
A pall of grief hung over the family’s two-storey house, located near Gurdwara Ber Sahib and the Sultanpur Lodhi police station, during the last rites. Manjeet Kaur, who lives with her husband, daughters-in-law and grandchildren, said all her sons died due to “chitta” (synthetic drugs).
She, who has been serving as a sewadar at Gurdwara Ber Sahib for the past 10 years, said, “Drugs have taken away all my five sons. All earning members of my family are gone. Who will raise these children now?” She appealed to the administration to provide a government job to her 22-year-old grandson.
Recalling her sons’ lives, she said her eldest son Balwinder worked at a sweet shop for four years, while two others were employed with the Nagar Panchayat. “All of them fell prey to drugs,” she said.
Sonu’s wife, Lavjot Kaur, was seen holding her four-month-old daughter Neerajdeep Kaur while managing household responsibilities amid grief. Another daughter-in-law, Sarabjit Kaur, said her husband, a daily wager, became addicted and stopped supporting the family. “He died four years after our marriage. We spent ₹7–8 lakh on his treatment. All five brothers were addicted,” she said.
Lavjot also alleged that masked men arrive on motorcycles to sell drugs, which are easily available in nearby villages such as Latiyanwal and Toti.
The incident underscores the continuing drug menace in the region and its devastating toll on families.
