Was beaten for sharing biscuit at de-addiction facility, says Thane techie

THANE: A 30-year-old man admitted to a de-addiction facility in Thane has accused four staffers of brutally assaulting him to punish him for violating the centre’s rule against sharing a biscuit, police said on Thursday.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered at the Shahpur police station in Thane.

“We have registered a case against them and are investigating the case. No arrests have been made yet,” said Shahpur senior police inspector Rajkumar Upase.

He said the four were booked on charges of voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.

The victim, a software engineer, said he was admitted to the facility by his family on December 12 for alcohol abuse.

The incident allegedly took place on February 23 when another inmate shared some biscuits with him. The man said this was a violation of the facility’s regulations and two caretakers reported him to senior officials.

Later in the evening, the man alleged that he was taken away and assaulted by two officials and the two caretakers.

The man said he did not speak about the assault because the four had threatened to harm him if he did. But his family saw the bruises after he returned home from the facility. His family took him to a government hospital for treatment and later approached the Shahpur police to file a FIR against the four.