Odisha: De-Addiction Centre Owner Arrested For Forcing Inmate To Lick Feet

Baripada: The owner of a de-addiction centre has been arrested for allegedly assaulting and humiliating a physically challenged inmate and forcing him to lick his feet in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.

The owner, identified as Abani Pati, was seen in a video mercilessly beating the inmate with PVC pipe in an inhuman manner. The video also showed the inmate being forced to lick the feet of Pati in an act of punishment at the drug and alcohol de-addiction centre located in Baripada, police sources said.

When the video of the scene went viral on social media triggering public outrage, the police swung into action and arrested Pati and his accomplice Pitabas Roul. Pati looked after the affairs of Pratigyan Nisa Nibarana Kendra, the centre run by a welfare trust.

Police registered a case against the two under different sections the IPC following a complaint by a voluntary organisation. All the inmates of the centre have been shifted to a different place, sources said.

Regarding Pati’s background, police said he is facing four criminal cases including one involving possession of drugs. According to district social security officer Narayan Behera, the de-addiction centre was functioning under the Health department.

The licence of the centre had been cancelled in 2017 as it was operating without registration from Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, sources said. The Facebook page of the centre described Pati as a motivational speaker. The antecedent of Roul, believed to be running a similar centre in the district, is being verified, sources added