Te Muktsar district police, in a joint operation with officials from the Health Department, on Thursday evening busted an illegal drug rehabilitation centre operating covertly from the basement of a shop in the grain market of Panniwala Fatta village located in the Lambi Assembly segment of Muktsar district.The authorities rescued nearly 70 persons admitted to the unlicensed facility. They were immediately shifted to civil hospitals in Muktsar, Malout and Gidderbaha for proper medical care.The owners had even stationed dogs on the ground floor, likely to deter entry or raising of an alarm, said an official who was part of the raiding team.Talking to The Tribune, Muktsar Senior Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Rana said the centre had been operating in secrecy. “Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were operating a similar facility in Sri Ganganagar district in Rajasthan and had shifted patients here after admitting them there for a few days.”He added that legal proceedings had been initiated against those involved in running and managing the unauthorised centre.Dr Sunil Bansal, Civil Surgeon, Muktsar, said, “We had received a complaint, and the operation was conducted discreetly in association with the police. A team from the Health Department was formed for this purpose.”Meanwhile, the incident has raised serious concerns about unregulated rehabilitation centres and the safety of addicts undergoing treatment in such facilities.