Following allegations of mistreatment of patients and lack of proper care, a de-addiction centre in Gurgaon Sector 40, which was being run illegally, was raided by the Chief Minister’s Flying Squad and the social welfare department, officials said. The man who was operating the centre has been arrested.
According to Inspector Harish of the team, Awakening Rehab Foundation “has been operating since 2021, and we had intimated them that it must be sealed, but the centre continued to run despite warnings.”
“When we raided the premises, we found 12 patients were housed in a big hall with bunk beds. They were given medicines used for general illnesses and did not receive proper medication, food or treatment. There was an office and a room for staff who would force-feed the inmates with pills, some of which were past their expiry dates. Some of the patients claimed they were physically abused by the staff,” he said.
One of the patients alleged he was beaten up several times at the centre. “The physician who came here had asked them to get an X-ray to check my ribs thrice, but they didn’t do it… Moreover, we have been facing degrading treatment. The staff and a man, who said he was the son of a police officer, have beaten me up… once I was beaten with a rod on my neck,” he alleged.
The Flying Squad in a statement said, “It was discovered that house no. 1094 in Sector 40 was illegally operating a substance rehabilitation centre, providing treatment for patients suffering from addiction to alcohol, cannabis, smack, etc. Upon the team’s arrival, the information was confirmed. The team met the operator of the centre, Balram. He stated that he had been operating the centre since 2021. He was asked to provide valid documents and consent (forms) of admitted patients and their legal guardians, but he failed to produce any valid documents.”
Balram was arrested while the patients were handed over to police, Harish said, adding that their families were also informed.
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“The families did not know the condition of the centre since they only saw pictures of it online. The staff used to go to the houses of patients to fetch them so the families didn’t know first-hand experience what was happening here,” said Harish.
The centre was charging Rs 40,000-45,000 per month for a normal bed and Rs 60,000-70,000 for a special bed, officers said.
The joint teams of the Chief Flying Officer and the Health Department have previously taken action against several such illegal centres, said the squad in the statement.