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Tribune News service
Chandigarh/Ropar, October 18
Punjab Health Minister Brahm Mohindra on Thursday ordered a crackdown on illegal drug de-addiction centres across the state even as he marked a departmental inquiry against the Ropar Civil Surgeon and the SMO, Chamkaur Sahib, for alleged dereliction of duty.
“An unlicensed de-addiction centre was being run on the premises of Jand Sahib Sikh Academy, Ropar, with 195 inmates who were subjected to inhuman treatment. The district health authorities will be brought to book for their negligence and failure to comply with the established protocol,” the minister warned in a demi-official letter to all civil surgeons.
As per the government instructions issued on January 1 and March 3, the civil surgeons were required to visit private de-addiction centres and nursing homes and furnish reports every Friday.
It is learnt that the owner of the illegal de-addiction centre in Ropar, where addicts were allegedly sodomised and thrashed, was in the process of opening a Rs 4 crore fast food outlet of a multi-national company.
Giving further details on the inhuman treatment of the inmates, the Ropar police said one of the addicts was confined to a toilet for a month. Another was sexually assaulted with an iron bar. Swapan Sharma, SSP, and DSP Navreet Singh Virk said the accused owner, Khushwinder Singh led a luxurious life and was trying to “diversify his operations”.
Police officials claimed the accused had told them that he was in the process of handing over the management of the rehab centre to certain persons and opening a food outlet on the highway. The police are investigating his bank details and other assets.
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