SAY NO TO DRUGS: Members of the Nasha Mukti Committee. Photo: S Chandan

About six months back, Sandeep Singh (25) had a deeply disturbing experience. A boy from his village died after drug overdose. The youth was addicted to it while selling ‘chitta’ in neighbouring villages. As a baptized young man, Sandeep made up his mind: he’d force drug peddlers out. “The villagers have become so indifferent to the notoriety of Chak Balochan Wala as a drug and illegal liquor haven that such deaths mean little,” says Sandeep, studying for the elementary teachers training (ETT) diploma. Fighting a well-connected drug ring is dangerous. “I made a video clip of a hideout of drug addicts on the outskirts of the village,” says Sandeep, recalling how at least 10 youths fell to drugs in a span of just one year. “Since none of the deaths has been documented, there is no official record. In some cases, addicts selling the intoxicant have died,” says Sandeep.His next step was to form a group of 50 boys to take on the peddlers frequenting his village. He told everyone he met: it’s time to wash the drug taint off the village. Several people in the Rai Sikh-dominated village of 1,800 residents have come forward. Sandeep has set up Youth Nasha Mukti Committee. The election canvassing has further strengthened their resolve as committee members want candidates to promise that they will help in stamping out the drug menace.“Youngsters from neighbouring areas sell chitta (adulterated form of heroine) in our village. We have brought it to the notice of the police. Several drug peddlers have been booked,” says Sandeep.The menace of chitta became more pronounced over the last year. In June 2014, a police team raiding an illicit liquor distilling unit was attacked by villagers. The illicit liquor trade had acquired the status of a cottage industry in the village allegedly under political patronage. In the last two decades, around 1,500 cases have been registered against residents of the village under the Excise and NDPS Acts.