Man ‘tortured’ at rehab centre

FAMILY ALLEGED THAT CENTRE’S STAFF DID NOT FACILITATE A PHONE CALL WHEN THEY WANTED TO TALK TO HIM

GREATER NOIDA: A family has filed a police complaint alleging their ward was tortured at a de-addiction centre in Greater Noida.

The complainant, Satyapal, is a resident of Biharipur in Delhi. He stated that his elder brother, Deependra, was addicted to liquor for some months.

“In September last year, I contacted the de-addiction centre in Greater Noida who promised to cure my brother in four months. They told me that they have developed a specialised course for de-addiction. They brought my brother from Delhi to Greater Noida,” he said. Satyapal said he had paid ₹50,000 as fee to the centre.

He alleged that for the last ten days, he had been trying to talk to his brother over the phone but the de-addiction centre’s staff did not facilitate a phone call. “On Saturday evening, a friend and I visited the de-addiction centre and demanded to meet my brother. However, I could not find my brother there. I spoke to the centre’s staff members and they facilitated a phone call. However, it appeared that someone else was talking to me on the phone pretending to be my brother,” he said.

Satyapal then filed a complaint at the Sector Beta 2 police station. Sujeet Upadhyaya, station house officer, Beta 2 police station said a case was registered against two persons under Section 364 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code. Upadhyaya said the police team conducted a search and recovered Deependra from the centre.

Satyapal alleged that on the pretext of de-addiction therapy, the staff had tortured his brother. “My brother has a burn injury on his abdomen. It appears someone threw hot water on his body. He also has injuries on right toe,” he said.

The de-addiction centre staff were not available for comment.