Madhya Pradesh: 7 dead in 15 days due to alleged drug overdose in Sushma Swaraj's constituency

Seven people have died in the last 15 days, allegedly due to an overdose of 'brown sugar,' in Lateri, a small town in Union Minister Sushma Swaraj's constituency: Vidisha.

Brown sugar is an unadulterated form of heroin, a highly addictive opiate.

Denizens of Lateri on Tuesday staged a demonstration, and threatened to begin an indefinite hunger strike if action wasn't taken against those selling brown sugar.

But District SP Vineet Kapoor refused to attribute the deaths to consumption of the drug.

'NOT POSSIBLE TO BLAME BROWN SUGAR'

"The doctors will confirm the exact reason, but it is not possible to pin it down to brown sugar for the police. And even if we assume that the deaths happened because of brown sugar, it does not happen in one day or in one week. It has to be a prolonged addiction," Kapoor told India Today.

"We have been raiding suspects for the past three days, and several suspects have been rounded (up), but nothing has been recovered from them so far," he added.

The seven victims were labourers from poor families. All of them were between 20 and 45 years old, a Lateri resident said.

On Monday, too, around 200 people participated in a protest march in Lateri against the open sale of brown sugar.

"Police is not taking any action against those who are involved in this illegal trade. People easily get brown sugar for around Rs 200 and this is slowly reaching the youngsters. We are seeking immediate action against those selling the drug," a protester said.

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