‘How were they sent out at midnight?’ Families seek answers in a Punjab hub of rehab centres

They were inmates of a de-addiction centre operating in Rori village in Sirsa district. Family members are asking why the four who were themselves receiving treatment were reportedly sent out unsupervised at night to pick up Amandeep from Maur Kalan village in Bathinda, about 50 km away.

Locals who refused to identify themselves told The Indian Express that the centre has been operating for five-six years and has around 5-10 patients at a time.

Police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against centre owner Ranjeet Singh, his associate Arun Kumar and an unidentified person. No arrests have been made so far. Tarundeep Singh, Station House Officer of Maur Police Station, said they were looking for the three.

The centre itself was operational till Tuesday evening, with Anil Kumar, the SHO of Rori Police Station, admitting they were yet to visit it. He said he would be going Wednesday. On whether the centre had the necessary clearances, the SHO said: “As the case has been lodged in Bathinda, we need to check the details.”

Rori Tehsil, located on the Punjab-Haryana border, has many de-addiction centres. Officials said patients from Punjab often prefer these small centres for anonymity, to avoid the taboo attached with addiction.

The father of one of the deceased, Sukhwinder Singh, said he knew little about the centre where his son was an inmate, and never visited it. “They themselves came and took Balpreet… I had heard of the centre from friends and so agreed to send him.”

Sukhwinder added that Balpreet, a graduate, got addicted to drugs after he went to the United Kingdom around two-and-a-half years ago on a work permit along with his wife. “We called him back to get him treatment. He returned on January 30 and we admitted him to the centre on February 6. He was scheduled to return to the UK this week.”

Demanding strict action against the centre authorities, Sukhwinder said: “My son and the three others were struggling to overcome drug addiction. It is shocking that they were sent to pick up someone late at night. If they could handle such responsibility, why would they need to be admitted to the centre in the first place?”

Family members said the centre did not have their consent to send their sons out. “They were charging Rs 15,000–Rs 20,000 per month for treatment. If inmates could be sent out like this, we could have kept them at home. No staff member accompanied them,” Sukhwinder said.

He added that the family received a call around 1 am informing that Balpreet had sustained minor injuries, and on reaching Civil Hospital, Talwandi Sabo, were told he had died.

According to the FIR registered on March 22, Balpreet, Gursimran and Harpreet were brought dead, while Jashandeep succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. All victims were brought to the hospital by local residents.

To run a de-addiction centre, one needs to get registered as an NGO or a society and maintain standards of care like having doctors, nursing staff etc on the rolls. SHO Anil Kumar said they will verify if the centre was licensed.