Third illegal de-addiction centre sealed in a month

Manmeet Singh Gill

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 11

A team of the district administration sealed another illegal de-addiction centre in Guru Nanak Pura here on Thursday. Staff at the Uprala Drug Counselling and Rehabilitation Centre could not present any document to prove registration.

The team, comprising Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Shivraj Bal, Assistant Civil Surgeon Dr Kirandeep Kaur and others, also rescued one inmate from the centre.

Talking to The Tribune, Dr Kirandeep Kaur said, “The inmate reported that he was brought here from his home by a vehicle sent by the centre two days ago. He also reported that he is an alcoholic and had earlier been admitted to the same centre in April this year.”

Though the owner of the centre, Lachman Singh Yogi, denied running any illegal centre, the team found 16 beds in the two rooms and a register showing details of attendance and money received from patients’ parents.

Dr Kaur said that they had shifted the patient to government-run Swami Vivekananda Drug De-addiction Centre and filed a police complaint against the centre.

It is the third such centre to have been inspected by the administration in the past one month. On June 13, the team had sealed an illegal drug de-addiction centre, being run from a secluded farmhouse in Rajewal village of Jandiala Guru, and rescued 26 inmates after reports of inhuman treatment.

On June 26, 16 inmates were rescued from a private centre near Meerakot village. The establishment was registered as a rehabilitation centre, but had been allegedly providing de-addiction treatment.