Patient Killed In Unlicensed Rehab At Chiryala
DMHO officials have contacted parents and guardians of other inmates, and arrangements are being made to shift them to a government-recognised NGO in Dundigal. Police said efforts are underway to trace Khayyum.
Hyderabad: Keesara police, investigating the death of a patient at Jyoti Rehabilitation Centre in Chiryala, have uncovered serious violations in the facility’s operations. On Tuesday, police arrested one of the accused, while the prime suspect remains at large.
Sources said the victim, Krishna Goud, died after a violent altercation with fellow patients. The clash began when he and another patient, Rajashekhar, argued on the third floor. It escalated when Khayyum dragged Krishna down, tied him up and continued the assault. Even after Krishna fell unconscious, Khayyum allegedly hit him in the chest. Repeated blows may have caused suffocation, leading to death. Khayyum and another accused, Swamy, fled the spot.
Police arrested Swamy on Tuesday and launched a manhunt for Khayyum. Investigators found that Jyoti Rehabilitation Centre was run by a man named Bhanu, now summoned for questioning. Officials said the facility had no valid registration, trade licence or Fire NOC.
A source told Deccan Chronicle that the centre has been operating for nine years. Bhanu is suspected of having obtained a licence for an old-age home but ran a rehabilitation centre instead, housing patients with mental disorders. Investigators found no qualified staff; patients were assigned duties such as cleaning, cooking and security. The centre houses around 150 inmates aged 18 to 60. Shockingly, one patient, an engineering student with schizophrenia, was found giving medicines to others for fever and headache.
When contacted, Medchal district medical and health officer (DMHO) Gowri Uma said the accused Khayyum was himself unstable. Once admitted for alcohol addiction, he later stayed on to take administrative duties but relapsed, resumed drinking and frequently assaulted inmates. His beatings of the deceased were also brutal.
DMHO officials have contacted parents and guardians of other inmates, and arrangements are being made to shift them to a government-recognised NGO in Dundigal. Police said efforts are underway to trace Khayyum.