Three employees transferred

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 13

The UT Social Welfare Department transferred three staff members of the Sector 15 old age home after its four-member committee in its preliminary report confirmed that an inmate was being given sleeping pills. Recently, the complaint was lodged by a staff member of the old age home that sleeping pills were being administered in food to inmates. The probe found that there were other problems prevailing in the old age home that were created by the staff working there.

As per the report, the cook has also given a written statement to the committee that on December 6 when a few inmates were out for some celebrations in Sector 30 old age home, he was to mix four sleeping pills in the food of one of the inmate who used to get violent and did not take medicine prescribed for her.

He also accepted that he had served three chapatis laced with sleeping pills to the inmate on the day when one of the staff members had registered the complaint.

Even the residents in their statement conceded that the particular inmate was given the sleeping pills in her food as she usually became violent with the staff and care takers there.

Sources said that the committee was also probing whether the overdose of the medicine could be the reason behind the death of four inmates in the past four months.

UT Social Welfare Director Tilak Raj confirmed that in the preliminary report, it was found that there were problems prevailing at the old age home. He said three staff members had been transferred for the time being so that there could be fair probe into the allegations made in the complaint. The report will be submitted by the committee in the next three days and action will be taken against the guilty.

The department today gave the charge of the home to Neetu Sharma, warden of the women hostel of Sector 24.

Meanwhile, a few of the old age home inmates visited the Director’s office today to submit their views on the issue. Some of them said that the resident manger was being targeted by one lobby of staff in the old-age home, but she was innocent. At present there are 32 inmates residing in the old-age home.