Man dies at de-addiction centre with 'injury marks' on his body

Family claims staff tied his hands, legs and beat him

A 28-year-old alcoholic died mysteriously at a de-addiction and rehabilitation centre located at Byrathi in eastern Bengaluru, barely two days after he was admitted there. His body bore multiple injury marks, a family member said.

Dinesh, a resident of Gupta Layout in Ulsoor, was admitted to the centre, run by one Sundar Moses, on Thursday two months after he started drinking heavily. Moses is said to have demanded Rs 8,000 as admission fees, which the family agreed to pay by Saturday.

“But on Saturday morning, we got a call from the centre, saying we must rush to the Victoria Hospital where Dinesh had been admitted,” Ravi told Deccan Herald. “By the time we reached there, he was dead.”

“There were injury marks all over Dinesh’s body — on the head, hands, back and legs,” said Ravi. He claimed that the centre’s staff had tied his hands and legs and beaten him on Friday in order to keep him away from alcohol.

When his condition worsened, the staff panicked and called the ‘108’ ambulance to take him to a hospital. The ambulance arrived but refused to take him as he was already dead.

The centre’s staff then hired an auto-rickshaw and took the body to the Victoria Hospital, Ravi said. When the family confronted Moses, he claimed that Dinesh had banged his head against the wall and severely harmed himself, which resulted in his death, Ravi said.

The family claimed that the local police “showed apathy” when they approached them. “They delayed registering the case for 12 hours. It was only after we met Home Minister K J George and complained to him did the police register a case,” Ravi said.

De-addiction medicine

When contacted, a senior police officer said: “The centre’s staff said Dinesh was given some de-addiction medicine, under the influence of which, he lost control over himself and started attacking other inmates who retaliated in kind. The staff claimed that Dinesh had become weak following the treatment and took seriously ill after the fight. We are waiting for the post-mortem report to dig out the truth.” He promised strict action against those responsible for Dinesh’s death.

The centre has more than 20 people who are being treated for various kinds of addiction, said the police. Dinesh, who worked as a painter, was living with his wife, Pallavi, and a six-month-old child.