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Policemen arrive in front of the de-addiction centre at Transport Nagar in Patna on Friday. Picture by Sachin |
Patna, Feb. 24: A 62-year-old man, running a private de-addiction centre at Transport Nagar under Patna City’s Agamkuan police station, was beaten before being shot at by four men this morning.
The police said the victim, D.K. Verma, could not cure a patient resulting in the attack. Verma, a retired employee of the state heath department, runs the de-addiction centre — Jeevan Darshan — for the past two years at his residence. Sources said, he had a few patients.
Around 7am today, Verma came out of his two-storeyed residence for a walk when the four came and surrounded him.
An argument ensued and the youths started to beat up Verma badly. On seeing the brawl, residents of the area rushed to save Verma. Seeing the residents, one of the four men took out a country made pistol and shot at Verma in the stomach, police said.
The criminals then tried to flee but one among them, later identified as Rupesh, was caught by the residents. Thereafter, the mob beat him up badly and even tore apart one of Rupesh’s ears. The other three, identified as Shankar, Guddu and Raju, however, managed to flee.
“The residents called up the police. The attacker thrashed by the mob and Verma were both rushed to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital. However, Verma’s family members later shifted him to a private clinic in Patna. At present, Verma is speaking but his condition is critical. The police have not been able to record his statement as yet,” an officer at Agamkuan police station told The Telegraph.
According to the police, Rohit Kumar, an addict, was admitted to Verma’s centre and was undergoing treatment for the past three months.
“Three of the attackers were Rohit’s friends and one was his brother. Rohit’s treatment took a lot of money but his addiction could not be cured. At present, Rohit is not admitted at the centre and the cops are trying to ascertain the day he was discharged. As Rohit is still fighting his addiction, the four men felt cheated and decided to teach Verma a lesson,” another police officer said.
The officer added that Verma was not even a certified doctor. “It was a private centre and Verma was not even a doctor. The police need to find out more about the centre and its way of functioning. A few patients are still admitted at the centre but the police are yet to take their statements. At present, investigations are on,” deputy superintendent of police (DSP) (Patna City) Sushil Kumar told The Telegraph.
At the nursing home where Verma is being treated at present none of his family members was keen on making comments. “Verma’s family is not speaking to the police. He is receiving treatment and we hope that he will be fine. His statement will be important and it will throw more light on the entire incident. Raids are being conducted to nab the three others, who are all residents of Fatuha,” the DSP said.