NEW DELHI: On a busy street in west Delhi’s Nangloi, an innocuous building stood as a beacon of hope for those struggling with drug dependence. But behind its facade of rehabilitation and recovery, the NeuroPsychiatry and De-Addiction Centre apparently harboured a dark secret: It pushed its patients further into addiction by supplying them with high-dosage drugs, a probe has revealed.
The privately-run centre also served as a hub for peddlers who would source drugs, package them, and sell them to youth at the center and others in the area, police said.
The investigation that exposed the centre’s nefarious activities began with the arrest of a 38-year-old drug peddler from Sultanpuri.
Fake docs prescribed drugs in dangerously high doses
As the police dug deeper, they discovered a complex web of deceit that led them to de-addiction centre.
The irony was stark. A place meant to help people overcome their addiction was actually fuelling the problem. DCP (outer) Sachin Sharma then formed a special team to uncover the scam, a source said.
The investigation led to the arrest of three more drug distributors who confirmed their their source of narcotics was the same centre. A raid was conducted there but the owner managed to abscond, police said.
Police said the centre was operating without any recognition from IHBAS (Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences) or any other government institution. The civil drugs control department’s inspection confirmed the facility lacked standard requirements, including proper counselling services and medical infrastructure, police said.
The centre’s staff, comprising fake doctors, psychiatrists and nurses, prescribed drugs in incorrect and dangerously high quantities, worsening the situation for patients, cops found.
The facility even had a receptionist and also maintained a visitor register, a clever ruse to maintain their facade of a legitimate treatment centre. “The register contained records of around 200 patients, aged between 17 and 25 years, who instead of receiving rehabilitation were being supplied with drugs,” said a senior police officer.
In the records that the police team found, more than normal quantities of heavily addictive drugs were being prescribed to individuals. According to police, the peddlers were experimenting with different combinations of drugs to produce a ‘better high’ in inmates. One of these was a concoction of Avil injection and Buprenorphine tablets for Rs 300 a pack.
During the raid, police seized drugs like smack besides 32 boxes of banned Avil injections, Buprenorphine tablets, a doctor’s stamp, multiple unofficial billing records, patient registers, a DVR system, and displayed registration certificates,” inspector Ritesh of Anti-Narcotics Squad said. “Multiple bills were also found mentioning 10,000 tablets of Buprenorphine in a single order to be received from another state,” said a senior cop. A case has been registered under sections of the NDPS act.
When contacted, DCP Sharma confirmed the arrests. Sources said the case was being investigated by a team led by inspector Ritesh Sharma and comprising SI Udit and four head constables, Priyanka, Sonika, Rajesh and Jaswant. “Efforts are underway to nab the centre owner,” he added.
