An inquiry conducted by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Tarn Taran has allegedly found a nexus involving officials and a private contracting firm for recruiting ineligible persons into the district’s drug de-addiction and rehabilitation facilities through outsourced contracts.The border district is one of the worst affected by the problem of drug menace. DC Rahul has recommended registration of police case based on inquiry report.According to a complaint made by one Harjinder Singh, a contract was awarded to Asian Advanced Development Private Company, owned by Davinder Singh and his associates, to recruit 120 persons on contract at state run drug de-addiction facilities in Tarn Taran.The complainant claimed that contract was allegedly awarded illegally by the then Deputy Medical Commissioner, Dr Ramandeep Singh Padda.“The contractor Davinder Singh was allegedly running a nexus through which he and his associates prepared fake degrees and documents, collected large sums of money from people, and gave them jobs. In this scheme, Rs 5 lakh was taken for the post of counsellor, Rs 3 lakh for staff nurse, and Rs 2 lakh for data entry operator, despite the degrees being fake. In July 2023, the company allegedly collected Rs 6,000 from each person in the name of verification, without issuing any receipt. The documents of the company’s director and those submitted by the company are alleged to be fake. At the time of awarding the contract, Dr Padda is alleged to have carried out no verification,” says complainant Harjinder Singh.The inquiry report states that Asian Advanced Development Pvt Ltd, contracted to provide manpower from July 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, charged unlawful “verification fees” and allegedly took bribes for recruitment. The company’s manager and contractor, Davinder Singh, has been accused of concealing facts about the contract, failing to follow contractual terms, submitting incomplete or misleading records, and harassing employees who raised complaints.The report further adds that the then Deputy Medical Commissioner Dr Padda, now posted as Senior Medical Officer (SMO) at Sur Singh, is alleged to have colluded with the contractor by failing to scrutinise documents and by ignoring irregularities in the recruitment process.Story continues below this adThe report cites evidence that fake certificates were used to hire several outsourced employees, including counsellors and data entry operators. It also refers to a legal agreement dated August 16, 2023, which allegedly shows that Rs 26.86 lakh was collected for recruitment as bribe.Several other outsourced staff are suspected to have been appointed without proper verification.The Deputy Commissioner has recommended forwarding the matter to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Tarn Taran, for detailed investigation, describing it as a matter of criminal nature.In a letter dated July 28, 2025, the incumbent Deputy Medical Commissioner of Tarn Taran reported alleged false patient entries and misuse of Buprenorphine tablets at two state-run opioid assisted treatment (OOAT) centres in the district.Story continues below this adBuprenorphine, a controlled substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, is intended to help individuals gradually withdraw from opioid dependence. However, health officials say that some addicts extract and inject the medicine for a more intense “kick”.’“These tablets are not available in the open market and are dispensed strictly through prescription under controlled medical supervision,” a senior health official said. “They are primarily used in de-addiction centres as part of opioid substitution therapy.”In letter addressed to the Senior Medical Officers of Ghariyala and Khadoor Sahib, the Deputy Medical Commissioner said that inspections at the OOAT Centre in Kiratowal (CHC Ghariyala) on July 28, 2025, and the OOAT Centre in Khadoor Sahib on July 25, 2025, revealed “serious irregularities” in patient records and the distribution of medicines.According to the official, when the previous week’s records were reviewed, the number of patients at the centres did not match the number of entries made online. The letter alleges that staff were “consistently making false entries” and misusing OOAT medicines.Story continues below this adThe matter had also been referred to the Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police, Tarn Taran, for further investigation and possible action against the staff involved.In this matter too the police investigation hasn’t started yet.Besides, these irregularities, these centres also witnessed theft of Buprenorphine from OOAT centres.The most recent incident occurred on July 1 at the Bhagupur Drugli Rehabilitation and OOAT centre in Tarn Taran. According to officials, a thief broke into the premises but was apprehended on the spot by security personnel and handed over to the police. The police also registered an FIR against the accused for stealing the fan from the facility at the Sadar Patti police station.Story continues below this adOn February 2, 2025, staff at the community health centre (CHC) at Ghariala reported that the door of the OOAT centre was found broken. Upon inspection, they discovered that the box containing Buprenorphine medicines had been forcibly opened. As many as 296 tablets of 2 mg and 5,626 tablets of 0.4 mg were reported stolen, according to officials.On March 3, 2025, thieves again targeted the CHC Ghariala. Items stolen included an air conditioner, a camera, a fan, and 3,151 tablets of 2 mg buprenorphine, officials said. Further, on May 25, all the Buprenorphine tablets were stolen from the civil hospital in Ajnala.Another theft was reported on December 13, 2024, at the Aam Aadmi Clinic in Rattagudda village in Tarn Taran. In this case, one air conditioner and a tablet charger were reported missing.