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Seamy underbelly of NL comes to the fore

By FARHANA AHMED

NORTH LAKHIMPUR, April 24 - North Lakhimpur and its ouskirts have since quite long become a den of banned substances, primarily by the younger generation, if not others.

The recent death of a 24-year-old youth here has been attributed to the growing menace of substance abuse, as confessed by two persons arrested in connection with the case.

The victim, Priyangshu Madhukalya was found in a precarious condition at Chaboti area on the evening of April 16 after he was picked up by two of his friends from his residence in Ward No. 8 of the town. He died on his way to Guwahati for advanced treatment. Based on complaints by the victim�s family, police arrested two of his friends, who reportedly confessed to giving a high dose of drugs to Priyangshu, which led to his fatal condition.

The tragedy came as a shocking reminder of the rampant use of drugs among a section of the youth irrespective of gender in and around North Lakhimpur. Areas near colleges and private hostels, bridges and deserted streets, the under-construction National Highway-15 bypass, offices and other public places with no power connection have long been favourite joints for such activities where youths in groups �indulge� till late in the night.

Substances like cannabis and ganja are rampantly used by these revellers in these dens every day. Roadside kiosks and paan shops in many pockets of the town do brisk business by covertly selling these substances which are codenamed �baba� and �weed�. These activities have gone unchecked over a couple of years, thereby accentuating the death of two young persons in less than one year.

On September last, a college student named Imran Ahmed was murdered by two of his seniors allegedly for the former�s refusal to cough up �extortions� to purchase drugs. Not strangely enough, the case still remains �unsolved� despite arrest of the accused persons.

This evergrowing phenomenon of drug abuse among the youths in North Lakhimpur has obviously led to a spurt in the district�s crime graph, a section of socially conscious senior citizens here rued.

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