Three workers of Noida de-addiction centre arrested for beating inmate to death

Upon interrogation, the suspects told the police that beating inmates was “a common practice at the facility” and it was meant to “discipline” inmates

The Gautam Budh Nagar police on Monday arrested three workers of a de-addiction facility in Sector 112 on charges of beating to death a patient admitted at the centre last week. The manager of the facility was arrested on Saturday in this connection, said police.

The suspects were produced before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody on Monday, said police. (HT Photo)

On March 9, the victim, identified as Indrajit Singh (30), was killed after allegedly being beaten with sticks at the facility in Sector 112, Noida, where he was admitted by his family on March 5 to rid him of his alcohol addiction.

Following a complaint by his brother Sarvjit Singh on March 10, the police arrested facility manager Pawan Kumar on Saturday (March 11) and recovered the stick used to beat the victim from Kumar’s possession.

According to the police, upon interrogation, the involvement of three workers in the assault came to fore following which they were arrested from the facility on Monday.

“The three suspects have been identified as Monu Kuvad (36), a resident of Panipat, Haryana; Shakir Khan (19), a resident of Malviya Nagar, Delhi; and Sonu Singh (32), a resident of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. They have been working at the facility since the past six months. In the CCTV footage recovered from the centre, the three arrested suspects were purportedly seen beating the victim and also kicking him while the manager could be seen assaulting him with a stick. The alleged assault took place between 9am and 1pm on March 9,” said Pramod Kumar Prajapati, station house officer, Sector 113 police station.

Upon interrogation, the suspects told the police that beating inmates was “a common practice at the facility” and it was meant to “discipline” inmates.

“The suspects revealed that on March 9, four inmates at the facility were told to remain kneeled with their hands raised as a form of punishment for misbehaviour. Of the four, Indrajit Singh disobeyed them after which Kumar, along with the three workers, started beating him. He hit the victim on his head with a stick after which the victim collapsed. He was bleeding from his head,” said the officer.

Manager Kumar later called up Indrajit’s brother Sarvjit and informed him that Indrajit suffered an epileptic fit and fell unconscious. After a few hours, Sarvjit was told that his brother was dead. Kumar sent Indrajit’s body to his residence in Delhi the same day, said the officer.

When Sarvjit inspected his brother’s body, he saw several wounds on him, including one grievous injury to his head after which he submitted a police complaint.

The suspects were produced before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody on Monday, said police.