BHUBANESWAR: A 40-year-old man, who was allegedly assaulted by the staff of a de-addiction centre in the city recently, succumbed on Thursday. Sarbeswar Behera of Patharabandha Basti was admitted in Sai Kripa drug de-addiction treatment-cum-rehabilitation centre in Bhotapada on January 27.
Police said, Behera was addicted to alcohol and was suffering from withdrawal symptoms. He reportedly harassed a few inmates of the centre on January 29 night. Two staff of the centre intervened and brutally thrashed Behera.
The staff allegedly assaulted him at about 2.30 am on January 30 after switching off the CCTV cameras.
As his condition deteriorated the next day (Jan 30), they shifted him to Capital Hospital at about 3 pm. He was later referred to a private hospital.
The staff of the centre informed Behera’s family members only after he was shifted to the hospital, sources said. Acting on a complaint filed by Behera’s wife Urmila, police arrested the founder of the centre - Anirudha Ray (30) along with his two staff Ankit Rout (25) and Antaryami Mishra (25) on Wednesday.
“Behera succumbed on Thursday while undergoing treatment. The case has been turned and registered under Sections 120B, 201 and 302 of the IPC,” said ACP Sanjeev Satpathy.Sources said Behera was working as a driver and is survived by his wife and three children.