Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, July 25: A youth identified as Sonu, 26 son of Kulwant Singh of Dilwari Gate, Amritsar Punjab was allegedly beaten to death in an illegal Drugs De-addiction Centre run by Punjab based person.
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The deceased’s sister Jyoti Devi said that her brother was admitted in New Hope Life Care Centre at Hatli Morh, Kathua run by Punjab based owner Jatinder Kumar, a resident of Jalandhar, Punjab.
Last evening, he was beaten mercilessly by management and left in unconscious condition without any treatment.
The staff of Drug De-addiction Centre fled away from the Centre after leaving the body there. The family members came to know about the unfortunate incident and rushed it to GMC Kathua. The postmortem of body was conducted and it was handed over to family for last rites. Kathua police has registered a case in this connection.
The Drug De -addiction Centre was running illegally without any person from Medical Department and 25 drug addicted youth belonging to Punjab were under going treatment there since April 2024.
A police team immediately rushed to crime spot and opened the lock of the Centre. The police collected the samples and evidence from the scene of crime.
Chief Medical Officer, Kathua Dr Vijay Raina said that only one Drug De-addiction Centre is registered and given permission. This Centre was running illegally without any permission. He said a similar centre was sealed in recent past at Nagari. “Whenever we get information of any illegal Drug De-addiction Centre we take action”, he added.
The family members of deceased Sonu and his sister Jyoti Devi appealed for justice and Magisterial enquiry into the matter. “How this Centre was running since last three months under the nose of Kathua administration,” asked Jyoti Devi.
I was paying huge money to Centre to save the life of my only brother. But they killed him brutally. It is heinous crime,” she screamed.
As per sources, nearly a dozen of such illegal centres are functioning in Kathua district illegally under the nose of administration. A similar murder case has taken place one year earlier in an illegal Drug De-addiction Centre just near Chak Gotta in the town. Only one Centre is registered under rules and regulations in Kathua and others are illegally functioning.
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