4 held for running illegal rehab

Hyderabad: The Keesara police apprehended four persons who were running an illegal psychiatric rehabilitation centre under the name of Mamatha Old Age Home by illegally confining 52 male and 21 female inmates in two houses at Shilpanagar Colony.

The accused formed an executive body and established the Home under the name of Mamatha Old Age Welfare Society in Nagaram, Keesara.

As per the permission obtained from the Registrar of Societies, the accused were to have run the old age home by providing good accommodation and hygienic food, professional caretakers and medication.

Flouting all the norms, the accused started running a rehabilitation centre instead of the old age home by admitting the psychiatric patients and mentally disturbed persons.

They are running it in unhealthy and unhygienic conditions, confined them inhumanly with chains and are manhandling them with sticks without taking proper medical care and professional caretakers, while charging them from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.

 Deputy commissioner of police, Malkajgiri. Rakshitha K. Murthy said, “All 82 inmates, male and female, were segregated based on their health condition and temporarily shifted them to a different NGO and five men were handed over to the family members after a medical check-up for better care. Efforts are continuing to apprehend the remaining  accused.”

The accused, identified as K. Venkateswara Rao and his wife K. Bharathi and Kokkilagedda Elizabeth, Lankapally Venkateshwar Rao, were arrested.

Another three accused were absconding.

The Telangana State Human Rights Commission (TSHRC) took suo motu cognizance of the issue and asked for a comprehensive report about the incident, the action taken against the accused, the condition of inmates along with information of other old age homes, facilities and its inmates condition by February 7, from the principal secretary, women and child development department.