Agartala, Sep 5 (IANS) Tripura Police have arrested eight people, including the owner of a private drug de-addiction centre, in connection with the alleged assault and death of a youth, officials said on Saturday.
The arrested persons include Swapna Foundation Drug De-addiction and Rehabilitation Centre owner Shubham Biswas and several staff members, a police official said.
According to police, Shahana Das Bhattacharjee lodged a complaint at the NCC police station on August 16, alleging that her husband, Tuhinsubhra Bhattacharjee, was assaulted at the centre, where he had been admitted on August 9.
Following the alleged assault, Tuhinsubhra was taken to Agartala Government Medical College and Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
In her complaint, Shahana also alleged that the family had made payments to the de-addiction centre on different occasions towards the victim’s treatment, medicines and consultations with doctors, and that the centre had subsequently demanded further payments, the police official said.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case at the NCC police station and launched an investigation.
Police said the investigation has so far uncovered preliminary evidence indicating the involvement of eight people, including the centre’s owner, leading to their arrest.
The preliminary investigation also revealed marks of assault on the deceased’s body, which were mentioned in the post-mortem examination report, police said.
The officer said no previous complaint of a similar nature had been received against the centre. However, based on the investigation into the present case, police said they had gathered sufficient evidence against the arrested persons.
The eight accused will be produced before a local court, where police are expected to seek their remand for further investigation, the official said.
Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, had said that his government follows a zero-tolerance policy towards the drug menace. “Law enforcement agencies must take all-out measures to curb drug-related activities,” Saha had said.
The Chief Minister had also said that the state government has decided to set up drug de-addiction centres in all eight districts of Tripura, with Rs 20 crore earmarked for each centre.
He said the Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has already sanctioned Rs 198 crore for setting up a special drug de-addiction centre at Bishramganj in Sepahijala district.
–IANS
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