Udta Rajouri is losing its youth to drug abuse; Police, administration play down death statistics

Stemming from stigma, denial and lack of awareness is further exacerbating the problem, say concerned resident. 

Aman Zutshi

RAJOURI: In a dimly lit room, heavy with sorrow, sits Shamli (name changed), a widowed woman whose world has been shattered by an unthinkable tragedy. Perched on a weathered wooden bed, her faint cola-colored suit a stark contrast to the vibrant memories that once filled her home – a small rented accommodation, Shamli’s eyes brim with unshed tears as she recounts the devastating loss of her two young sons to drug overdose.

As Shamli’s gaze drifts to a cherished photo frame perched atop a yellow, zig-zag concrete shelf, the air thickens with anguish. Her voice, barely louder than a whisper, trembles with raw emotion. “Whenever I eat, I share morsels with their picture, desperately trying to nourish the memory of my boys,” she confesses, her words weighed down with a mother’s eternal love. “In moments of overwhelming sorrow, I lose all sense of reality. It’s as if they’ve taken my very essence with them.”

Drug overdose robbed Shamli of her two children in the prime of their youth. Elder of the two was just 22 when he died, over a year and a half ago. One evening he disappeared and the next morning he was found dead near a garbage dump, stray dogs beginning to nibble his lifeless form with flies buzzing around his mouth. The Police found his body in the morning but Shamli was informed later in the evening at around 4.00 PM.

They wanted permission to conduct an autopsy which she didn’t allow, appalled by the idea of his body being ripped apart and fearful of the stigma and shame that the discovery of his death by drug overdose would bring to the family.

The family could neither escape the stigma, nor the endless tragedy that followed. “Even his employers he had devotedly worked for didn’t come to see his face,” she laments, adding, “Our landlord had earlier threatened to throw us out from the one-room house because of my sons’ addiction. Sometimes, he warned me not to accommodate them and they would roam in the streets all night…… But, how, could I sleep?”

At that time, she was unmindful that her youngest son was also addicted to drugs. When she realized this, she informed the police and admitted him to the drug de-addiction center opened in the GMC Rajouri. He came back from the de-addiction center after some days and said that he would not go there again. “He had fallen prey to drug peddlers in the neighbourhood,” she says. He was studying earlier, then quit studies and was working as a rag-picker. But recently, he took to drugs.

She continued, her voice heavy with sorrow, “I was at work one day. When I came back, my youngest son did not open the door. My elder son and I broke it open to go inside. He was sitting there on bed cross-legged without any movement. His lips had turned blue just like this shirt (she pointed to the shirt I was wearing) and it was winter. We regret having left him alone.”

“One boy from our ward and another from Ward No.10 was nabbed when he died,” she says.  But nothing can console her. All she is left with is photographs of her sons. One is framed and placed on the shelf. The younger son’s photo is saved in her eldest son’s mobile and he doesn’t frame it, fearing that I will weep inconsolably just looking at it.” Barely 20 years old, he had his life ahead of him, she says, pauses, and then adds, “Their existence withered away in minutes.” Her only support now is her eldest son, and she prays for his health and long life.

In this modest home, now a shrine to maternal grief, Shamli grapples with an existence devoid of the laughter and dreams of her two beloved sons. Her story serves as a poignant reminder of the devastating toll of drug addiction, not just on those in its grip, but on the loved ones left behind to pick up the pieces of shattered hopes and unfulfilled promises.

Shamli said that the deputy commissioner was informed after her sons died and she has appealed for compensation citing her destitution after losing her two sons. But she doesn’t know how to pursue the matter.

Lack of data on drug abuse, deaths

The drug addiction crisis in Rajouri presents a complex and often conflicting picture. The stigma surrounding drug overdose deaths significantly impacts data collection and reporting. Many families, fearing social judgment, are reluctant to disclose when their loved ones die from overdoses. This reluctance contributes to a notable discrepancy between official figures and local perceptions of the problem’s scope.

Attempts to gather official data on drug-related deaths in Rajouri proved challenging. After visiting the Police Headquarters for two days, the Kashmir Times advised by the Additional SP to file an RTI request for access to the death toll data. The SSP of Rajouri offered to provide a press release or written comments instead of raw data, and later directed the local police station SHO to answer the queries. The SHO did not give the statistics about drug abuse-related deaths but revealed that the Rajouri police have recently attached properties worth Rs 2 crores and 24 lakhs from drug dealers in the city, assets allegedly acquired through illicit drug trafficking.

According to a counselor at the Government Medical College and Associated Hospitals, Rajouri, their de-addiction center has been treating 600 registered addicts over the past 14 months. These patients range in age from 19 to 50, with two women among them who became addicted after overconsuming doctor-prescribed medication.

The Forensic Department of GMC Rajouri provided some concrete figures, though these numbers appear to contradict local claims. According to their data, there were three male deaths attributed to drugs from January 1 to June 2024 and seven male deaths throughout 2023.

While the police department and GMC Rajouri officials report a low death toll from drug overdoses, local residents contradict the claims. Several individuals interviewed maintained that the actual number of overdose deaths in the area is between 50 and 60, suggesting a potentially severe under-reporting of cases.

The Deputy Commissioner was not available for comment on Rajouri’s increasing drug problem. Despite several visits to his office, Kashmir Times could not manage to elicit a response. His subordinates simply said that he was busy.

Stigma is a major bottleneck

However, locals in Rajouri, talk with concern about how Rajouri’s youth are falling prey to drugs. A young advocate, Zahoor Khan, said, “The drug menace was slightly controlled some months ago when Deputy Superintendent, Mudasir Choudhary, took charge. He nabbed several drug kingpins and eradicated drug supply to a great extent but the drug crisis is again growing its ugly head here.”

Khan is worried that drug addiction is consuming the youth of the region. Youngsters who were brilliant students are also falling prey. The government has opened facilities at the hospital including a drug de-addiction center, Khan says, but adds, “This is not enough”. “There are no psychologists for counselling the youth and the society is not too educated to accept the addicts. Many people do not send their wards to the drug addiction center for fear of social stigma.”

The stigma surrounding drug abuse remains a significant challenge in many communities, often leading to denial, shame, and reluctance to seek help. This social stigma can have profound effects on families dealing with addiction issues, sometimes causing them to reject the reality of substance abuse even in the face of tragedy.

Contestations around a youth’s death

A recent case in Rajouri illustrates this complex dynamic. A young married man, Mohan (name changed), from Chaprian was found dead on the riverbank in the Alpha Gate area on June 7, 2024. Reportedly, two individuals accompanying him fled when residents raised an alarm. When his body was brought to the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital, his family and friends vehemently denied the possibility of drug involvement, instead alleging murder. This reaction is not uncommon in communities where drug use carries a heavy social stigma.

However, a Sub-Inspector at the hospital, who was preparing a report, informed the Kashmir Times that the death was likely due to a drug overdose. The officer confirmed this information the following morning when this reporter visited GMC Rajouri to collect data on drug-related fatalities.

A chance encounter with the deceased’s 19-year old cousin, while sharing an auto-ride from GMC Rajouri at 8.45 PM, shed some light on the deceased person’s drug abuse history. Overcome with grief, he told the Kashmir Times, “He was a good person but addiction consumed him.”

It’s easier for many to accept a tragic accident or even foul play than to confront the possibility that their loved one struggled with addiction. This denial, however, can hinder efforts to address the broader issues of drug abuse within the community and prevent others from seeking the help they need.

As Zahoor Khan points out, there is a need for increased awareness, education, and support systems to combat both the practical and social challenges of drug addiction. By reducing stigma, we can create an environment where families feel safe to acknowledge substance abuse issues and seek appropriate help and treatment.

Lack of sports infrastructure and acute unemployment are further exacerbating the problem, Zahoor Khan says. This is where the administration can play a role.

He also feels that police are less focused on plugging the supply chains of drugs and is merely dealing with the consequences of drug abuse like petty crimes and burglaries. “These consequences will end automatically when the illicit drug trade is controlled,” he opines.

Tapentadol tablets and ‘rumours’ of a drug hot-spot

Khan said a major issue is that Tapentadol tablets, which are mostly consumed by addicts probably do not come under the NDPS Act. “The people consuming them melt these tablets, fill them in syringes, and take shots in the arm,” he said.

Mohan’s cousin also spoke about orange-coloured tablets and mentioned it was likely Tapentadol. “I once witnessed an 8th-grade student preparing a drug dose on aluminum foil in the bushes of Bela Colony,” he said and added, “When DSP Mubashir was stationed here, he cracked down on drug trade, conducting thorough house-to-house searches. It significantly curbed the problem. But now, drugs are being sold as freely as water in our area.”

While talking to a cross-section of locals in Rajouri about the rampant drug abuse, Bela Colony figures frequently as a notorious hot spot in drug abuse. Zahoor Khan also spoke about it and said that he has heard from locals in the area about addicts lurking around in wait for their supply. “Drug peddlers come there at night but it is dangerous to go there and check,” he warned.

When asked about Bela Colony, police officers parried the questions and simply responded that action is taken by the Police whenever some inputs are received. “Raids are conducted and arrests are made,” they said.

Fayaz Ahmed, a student from Bela Colony also says he has heard these stories in the neighbourhood but has never seen the drug peddlers, though some addicts have been spotted in the locality. Several people spoke about Bela Colony being a ‘hot spot’ but none of them admitted that they had personally witnessed seeing drug peddlers or addicts in the locality.

Like many locals in Rajouri, Fayaz claims that the deaths too, due to drug abuse are high in the town but it becomes difficult to get the actual data on such deaths as family members also lie about the deaths and are hesitant to get post-mortems conducted. “But that hasn’t helped reduce the problem, rather it is on the rise,” he laments. He adds, “I first started hearing about drug abuse in Rajouri about 10 years ago but now it is uncontrollably on the rise and consuming our youth.”

Another concerned youth, Nadeem Ahmed, says that the responsibility of rampant drug abuse does not squarely lie on the shoulders of the administration. “Parents and families are also responsible,” he says, adding that they should monitor and guide their children and make sure that their wards are involved in constructive activities like sports. “When they come to know about the drug abuse problem, they tend to hide it for fear of stigma instead of treating their children in drug de-addiction centre,” he says. “These things augment the crisis,” he opines.

In light of the stark disparities between official data and local perceptions, coupled with the pervasive stigma surrounding drug addiction, Rajouri faces significant challenges in accurately assessing and effectively addressing its drug crisis, underscoring the urgent need for improved reporting mechanisms, community education, and a more transparent approach to tackling this complex issue.

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