Day after admission, patient killed in rehab centre in fight over refusing medicine

Surat: A 32-year-old inmate was tied to a bed and beaten to death at a Dumas-based de-addiction centre, allegedly by five people including counsellors and a driver, just a day after being admitted for rehabilitation.The incident occurred at Rivaa De-addiction and Rehab Centre on March 1 but came to light on Wednesday after the Dumas police arrested the five accused.Preliminary investigation suggested that the victim, Dhaval Rathod's persistent refusal to take medicine sent the staffers into a furious rage and culminated in his brutal murder.Investigation officer NV Bharwad told TOI: "We found that four persons - Jignesh Desai (56), Rohan Sanghani (40), Shailesh Vaghela (44), and Dilip Joshi (38) - thrashed him with sticks, punches, and kicks, which led to his death. The altercation was sparked by Dhaval's refusal to take medicine. Two of them restrained his legs and hands while the others beat him. When he fell unconscious, he was tied to the bed."An ambulance was called, reportedly after much delay, but Dhaval was declared brought dead at New Civil Hospital (NCH) around 10.30pm. Administrator Nehal Solanki was arrested for negligence that proved fatal as she allegedly did not seek immediate medical help.The complaint was lodged at Dumas police station by Dhaval's younger brother Himanshu, who works as a junior assistant in the state-run discom Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd (DGVCL) in Surat. His elder brother Shailesh is posted as a police inspector at the Junagadh Police Training Centre. According to the FIR, Dhaval was addicted to sleeping pills and painkillers for seven years. Himanshu finalised this facility on Feb 22 after meeting Desai, a counsellor. He was admitted on Feb 28.The next day, Himanshu got a call from Solanki at 9.30pm saying that Dhaval had fallen unconscious and his heartbeat had dropped. Himanshu reached NCH where Desai informed him about Dhaval's death.At the hospital, Dumas police found multiple injuries on his face and other body parts. A forensic postmortem confirmed death due to body trauma and haemorrhage.According to the FIR, Desai allegedly slapped Dhaval for refusing to take the medicine. Hearing the commotion, another counsellor, Sanghani, Vaghela, and driver Joshi rushed there. Joshi had brought a stick with him, which Desai snatched and started beating Dhaval by forcing him prone while the other three restrained him.Even as Dhaval apologised and pleaded not to be beaten, Desai allegedly struck him repeatedly on the head, back, and legs with the stick, while the other three kicked and punched him.Dumas police said the centre had been operated by a trust named ‘Parivartan Trust' for the past few years. They have asked the trustees to furnish the necessary documents, including qualifications of the staff and the doctors prescribing medicines.Patients' kin to be calledFollowing the incident, relatives of several patients admitted to the centre approached the police and expressed concern over its functioning. "About 30 patients are currently admitted to the centre. We are planning to call the relatives today to record their statements, based on which a decision will be taken on whether the centre should be allowed to operate for now," said an official.