BARIPADA: Nearly a month after being arrested over assault of a physically- challenged inmate, owner of the illegally operating de-addiction centre at Kalikapur Abani Pati landed behind the bars again on Sunday for allegedly illegally confining another inmate and demanding money from his mother to release him. Pati’s arrest for the second time in a month has exposed the district administration’s slipshod attitude as the de-addiction centre was allowed to operate despite not having valid documents, a fact which came to the fore last month.
Sources said the mother of an inmate met Mayurbhanj Collector Vineet Bhardwaj seeking his help to release her son from the de-addiction centre. The woman alleged that Pati was demanding Rs 80,000 to release her son. Based on her petition, the Collector directed district social security officer Radhakrushna Rout to probe the matter. Rout said he and Baripada Town IIC Birendra Senapati conducted a joint inquiry following which Pati was arrested.
On being asked why the administration failed to close the illegal de-addiction centre, he said there was a delay in shifting all the inmates to other places. The rest of the inmates will be shifted from the centre soon. “I have submitted the inquiry report to the Collector. Necessary action will be taken as per the direction of the Collector,” Rout added. Baripada SDPO KK Hariprasad said a case was registered under sections 307, 336, 341, 342, 323 and 324 of the IPC against Pati.
The accused will be produced in Baripada court. The SDPO further said Pati’s de-addiction centre will be sealed in a couple of days. On August 10, Pati along with his accomplice Pitabas Roul was arrested after a video of a differently-abled inmate being physically assaulted and humiliated went viral on social media. He was granted bail a few days later. During the investigation, it was found that the centre, owned by Pati and called Pratigyan Nisha Nibarana Kendra, was running illegally.
Licence of the centre was cancelled in 2017 as it was operating without registration from Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010. Further investigation revealed that Pati faced four criminal cases, including a murder charge. He was accused of murder around three years back. Pati was also booked in an alleged drug possession case in Bangiriposhi Ghat four months back. He was caught red-handed supplying brown sugar inside his car.