Naresh Kumar/Dhuri/Sangrur
District police have arrested five accused for allegedly stealing 20,272 Buprenorphine tablets from the OOAT (de-addiction) centre at Dhuri.
According to SSP Sangrur , the incident took place on the intervening night of March 2–3 when the accused broke into the OOAT centre and stole Buprenorphine tablets meant for patients undergoing treatment for drug addiction.
(SUBHEAD)Police have identified the arrested accused as Varinder Singh alias Bunty, Anees Thakur alias Elu, Sonu Chopra alias Don, Hardeep Singh alias Babu and Praveen Kumar, all residents of Dhuri and nearby areas. The accused are reported to be drug addicts themselves.
A case has been registered against them under Section 305 of the BNS and Sections 22 and 29 of the NDPS Act. During the investigation, police recovered tablets of Buprenorphine 2 mg and 0.4 mg, totaling 18,560 tablets. A computer system and a motorcycle stolen from the centre were also recovered.
Police teams were constituted to trace the accused, following which they were arrested and produced before the court. Police have obtained their remand for further interrogation, and more disclosures are expected during the investigation. SSP Sartaj Singh Chahal stated that security arrangements at the hospital would also be strengthened to prevent such incidents in the future.
