Cops launch probe into death of mentally ill man admitted at Thane asylum

The sisters-in-law of the deceased man show their letter to the commissioner of police, Thane. Pic/Hanif Patel

The Thane crime branch has launched an enquiry into the mysterious death of a Vasai-based schizophrenic man, whose relatives had alleged that he was brutally assaulted by staff at the Regional Mental Hospital (RMH), Thane, where he was admitted in February. The relatives also claimed they had to cough up Rs 8,200 to admit him to RMH on February 7.

On February 25, mid-day published an article about the man's mysterious death and how the staffers allegedly forced his family to pay a bribe for his admission to RMH. This prompted reporters of mid-day to go undercover and expose the rampant corruption at RMH, where one can lock-up anyone as mad for a paltry sum.

The sister-in-law of the deceased man said, "I had approached Wagle Estate police station in Thane after the tragedy, but the cops told me to visit Agripada police station in Mumbai. I had to run from one police station to another but no one helped me. The Thane police commissioner met us and ordered the Crime Branch to look into it." The sisters-in-law of the 53-year-old deceased recently met Thane Police Commissioner Jai Jeet Singh with a multi-page complaint letter against the RMH, Thane.

Also Read: Thane: Property row main reason for dubbing sane people mad

Medical Superintendent Dr Netaji B Mulik at the RMH. File pic

"The matter has been handed over to the Crime Branch for further investigation," Singh told mid-day. One of the sisters-in-law of the deceased man said after meeting the Thane police chief, they received a call from the Crime Branch office and also met DCP Shivraj Patil on Tuesday.

"The case has not been registered so far though we gave our complaint letter to the police chief. But the commissioner has promised all help and told us that the Crime Branch will conduct an inquiry into the matter," said the sister-in-law of the deceased. "On Tuesday, we met DCP Crime Shivraj Patil whom we have briefed on everything mentioned in our complaint letter. DCP Patil told me that we will have to visit again to assist his team in the police inquiry," she added.

The case

The schizophrenic man was admitted to RMH, Thane on February 7 and later found severely injured. "At the time of his admission, there were no injuries on his body. But when we visited RMH on February 13 to submit his COVID-19 vaccination report, we were told that he had stopped eating and had become very aggressive, and did wear any clothes; hence he had been kept in an isolation ward," said the sister-in-law.

"When I insisted that the hospital staff allow me to see him, two female nurses forced me to sign a document that read, ‘if anything happens to him, you will be held responsible'. I was so desperate to see him in the ward that I signed the paper and went to see him," she recalled. "He was kept in a dark room, fully isolated. There was no light or fan. I was absolutely surprised to see him in this condition, as he always felt very uncomfortable if the fan was switched off. But there, the RMH staffers tortured him to the core," she recalled.

After helping the schizophrenic man pull up his pants and eat a few bananas, his relatives returned to Vasai from the Thane mental asylum. "But soon we received a call from RMH and the caller told me that he was in a critical condition. So we rushed to Thane as my brother-in-law was taken to Civil Hospital," she added. "When I reached Civil Hospital in Thane at 12:30 am on February 14, he was unconscious. His left leg was motionless and the right one was trembling. He had high fever; his eyes were wide open and tears rolled down after he saw me. I was shocked to see him lying on the hospital bed in such a terrible condition," she added.

'Where is Vishal?'

"We have also told the crime branch officer that one RMH staffer, Vishal, wanted us to get my brother-in-law discharged from Thane Civil hospital. Though other staffers at the Civil Hospital wanted us to keep him admitted there itself, Vishal forced us somehow, saying that the patient will not survive if he was kept there. He (Vishal) promised us that he would facilitate an oxygen bed at JJ Hospital in Mumbai," she added.

"But after we got our patient discharged from Civil Hospital, Vishal was not to be seen. Also, his cell phone was switched off. We are yet to understand why he desperately wanted to get my patient discharged from the Civil Hospital. We have requested Thane police to thoroughly probe the matter," she added. After getting the patient discharged from the hospital, the relatives rushed him to Mumbai to admit him at JJ hospital but a bed was not available there, she added.

"The ambulance driver helped us and took him to BYL Nair hospital, where he was finally admitted on February 14. He breathed his last on February 19," said the sister-in-law. "When we met him on February 13 in the day, he was conscious and responding to me. He also recognized me as his ‘badi bhabhi'. But how did he become so serious after we left the RMH for home? How did he become so serious that he fell unconscious? What went wrong in just a few hours?" she wondered.

"His right elbow was fully swollen, and there were lacerations and abrasions all over both his hands and legs. There was also an injury mark on his forehead. Who assaulted him if he was kept in an isolation ward? Why have the accused staffers not been sacked? I will take the matter to court and fight the legal battle till my last breath. I am not going to spare those who are responsible for the death of my family member. He was an innocent soul," said the sister-in-law.

Enquiry report

mid-day's report prompted the RMH to conduct an internal enquiry in the matter, however, its Medical Superintendent Dr Netaji B Mulik maintained that none of the hospital staff assaulted the Vasai man.

"After your story was published, I sent memos to all the staffers including the nurses, doctors, ward boy, attendant, and others to know if he (the Vasai man) was assaulted. They told me that none of them assaulted him. So in such a case, what generally happens is that if a patient is aggressive in the ward, he injures himself or gets injured in the infighting," Dr Mulik said.

"Regarding bribery, I wrote to the private contractor who supplies manpower to us and asked him to immediately sack Vinod More who had allegedly taken R8,200 from the man's relatives for the admission. More was an employee of Pune-based Lokrajya Swayam Rojgar Seva Sahkari Sanstha and he was appointed here as a contractual worker in fourth grade. After I wrote a letter to his employer, he has been removed," Dr Mulik said.