Cop chained and beaten, dies in Tiruchy de-addiction centre

Life Care De-Addiction Centre that is functioning at a rented building in Anbazhagan Nagar at KK Nagar, Tiruchy, was in the eye of a controversy after relatives of the deceased policeman came there to inspect the facilities it had. They were shocked to find patients chained, including a few who were found to have bruises that they suffered due to continuous beatings by the staff.

According to sources, R Tamil Selvan, a constable at Pennadam police station in Cuddalore, was suspended from the force due to his alcohol addiction. He was then admitted to the de-addiction centre on May 28 so as to help him come out of it. Sources added that his family members took him to Life Care De-Addiction Centre after learning about it during an online search. The centre charges Rs 15,000 per person.

On June 1 night, Tamil Selvan developed some illness. The staff at the facility rushed him to a private hospital in Tiruchy. However, he had died by then, and doctors there declared him dead on arrival after medical examination. Soon, his relatives were informed, who arrived Tiruchy and took the body to their native.

However, when they were washing the body before the final rites, the relatives were shocked to find bruises all over Tamil Selvan’s body, revealing the torture he underwent at the hospital. Furious over this, the kin decided to go to the de-addiction centre soon after the burial.

When they reached the centre on Monday, the staff did not allow them to enter the facility. They managed to shove the staff and went inside. What awaited them was a shocking sight of 27 patients who were chained and with bruises all over their bodies, which made it clear to them that the beatings that Tamil Selvan had to undergo there was not an isolated instance.

Elaborating the way in which they were treated inside, Venkatesan, another cop undergoing treatment there, said: “They beat us all the time; they need no particular reason for that. They beat us even for smiling, talking, not sleeping and so on,” he said. The persons admitted there also complained that there was no doctor at the centre and they were being given tablets by the staff themselves. It is not yet clear if they have any medical expertise to prescribe or administer medicines.

Following this, Tamil Selvan’s relatives have lodged a complaint with the KK Nagar police, alleging that it was the ill-treatment meted out to him that killed him. They demanded a thorough inquiry into his death. The Social welfare officer and police are on the process of completing initial investigation, and assured that appropriate action would be taken against the centre.