34 Patients Escape from Biswanath De-Addiction Centre Amid Allegations of Abuse

Biswanath Chariali, Assam: A private de-addiction centre in Biswanath district has been the talk to the town after 34 patients, undergoing treatment at the centre escaped from the Rehab centre, the inicident happened after the young patients broke open its iron-grilled entrance of the centre, with the incident sparking alarm and concern across the district and family members of all the patients.

The incident occurred at approximately 12:15 pm at the Live Well Rehabilitation Centre located in Madhupur, Biswanath Chariali. As per reports, the patients smashed the iron grill door and allegedly used bricks and iron rods to threaten and attack caretakers while fleeing the premises. Of the 44 patients housed at the centre, nearly 34 managed to escape. Many of them are believed to be from Biswanath, Balipara, Gohpur, and Arunachal Pradesh.

The patients who escaped later approached the police and pleaded to remain in police custody rather than return to the rehabilitation centre. Several of them alleged that they had suffered long-term 'physical' and 'mental' abuse from the centre's management. They claimed that they were being tortured, mistreated, and given insufficient food and medicines, prompting them to leave the centre.

The incident comes days after videos of allegedly showing inhuman treatment of patients in two de-addiction centres in Biswanath went viral on social media. Following the controversy, the Social Welfare Department filed a complaint at Biswanath Chariali Police Station. In response to the complaint, police have arrested Akash Shah linked to Live Well Rehabilitation Centre and the owners of the rehabilitation centre, while, Munna Hazarika remains absconding.

Police teams have since launched an operation to trace the missing patients. While several have been recovered from different parts of Biswanath town, the whereabouts of many others remain unknown.

The police team are currently in the process of reaching out to the families of the patients who have escaped and are making arrangements to return them to their respective homes safely . In the meantime, Biswanath Police has started a detailed investigation into the allegations of abuse and the circumstances which led to the mass escape.

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