De-addiction centre owner arrested after old video of hitting inmate goes viral

In the video, reportedly shot a year ago, Pati is seen beating the bare bodied inmate while another man holds his hair

Police in Baripada town of Mayurbhanj district of Odisha on Wednesday arrested the owner of a drug and alcohol de-addiction centre after an old video of him beating a specially-abled inmate of the centre went viral on social media.

Abani Pati, who owns Pratigyan Nisa Nibaran Kendra , was detained by police. (HT photo)

Police officials in Baripada said they have detained Abani Pati, who owns Pratigyan Nisa Nibaran Kendra, after they saw the video of him beating a specially abled inmate with a plastic pipe.

In the video, reportedly shot a year ago, Pati is seen beating the bare bodied inmate while another man holds his hair.

The man who is holding the hair of the inmate is seen ordering the inmate to lick the feet of Pati.

“We have arrested Pati and searching for the other person who was holding the hair of the specially-abled inmate. The incident happened over a year ago, but the video came out a day ago. The inmate had left the centre after the incident,” said Baripada town police station inspector-in-charge Birendra Senapati.

A few years ago, a case was registered against Pati after an inmate died.

In 2017, the centre was sealed by the district administration under Clinical establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act 2010 as it ran without registration number. The officials found that no doctors came to attend to the patients nor were they properly fed.

In December 2016, ten inmates had escaped the centre alleging that they were subjected to torture in the rehabilitation centre whenever they complained about food.