A de-addiction centre aimed at providing rehabilitation for drugs and alcohol addicts turns into a house of horror after patients alleged ill-treatment. So much so, that many of them have even died in due course.
Chennai: A de-addiction centre in Trichy has come under the scanner after inmates were found chained and with bruises. A suspended police constable is also one of the many who lost their lives while undergoing ‘treatment’.
Tamilselvan had been admitted to the de-addiction centre in Trichy for alcohol addiction. But just a couple of days later, the suspended policeman died.
His family members were told he died due to seizures. However, while performing his last rites, his family found bruises on his body and lodged a complaint at the KK Nagar Police Station.
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Investigations began in full swing when it came to light that 24 inmates stayed in a crammed building with no proper beds, pillows or even toilets. Inmates who still had thick chains tying their legs together, alleged that they were constantly beaten and tortured in the de-addiction centre.
Venkatesan, one of the inmates, said, “There is no such thing as treatment, we are all here. We don’t even get tea. For breakfast, we are given porridge; for lunch we are served sambar rice and for dinner we get rasam rice. The food is usually saltless and we have to eat it with a piece of pickle.”
He further added that in a span of just two months, two people had died at the centre. He believed that in a year, at least five or six people may have died.
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Reports also suggest that the centre could provide no documents to claim that they have a license to function. The centre also lacked qualified professionals to handle patients seeking help from addiction.
Speaking to media, Venkatesan further added, “People admit patients here, by looking up the place on the internet, where they claim to provide treatment. But in reality, they have nothing. Yet they charge around Rs 15,000 per person and keep them here as long as possible.”
MyNation looked up the centre’s website, wherein it says that the centre was founded in 2010 and registered in 2015. However, reports claim that it never applied for an inspection and no proof of license was provided.
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The police have filed a case of unnatural death in Tamilselvan’s case and are waiting for the results of the post-mortem before conducting further investigations.
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