District health officials will be brought to the book for negligence, Punjab health minister says. (File)
Punjab Health Minister Brahm Mohindra said today the state government will hold civil surgeons personally accountable if they fail to crack down on illegal drug de-addiction centres being run in their respective districts.
Mr Mohindra's statement came two days after the police freed 250 young men from an illegal drug de-addiction centre near Chamkaur Sahib in Rupnagar district.
The men, confined in a big room, were being treated as bonded labourers and beaten up everyday, according to the police.
The minister said illegal activities under the guise of social service will not be tolerated and people behind such de-addiction centres will be punished. The district health authorities will be brought to the book for their negligence, he added.
A departmental inquiry has been initiated against the Rupnagar civil surgeon and senior medical officer of Chamkaur Sahib, the minister informed.