41 mental patients rescued from illegal health centre
TNN | Jan 3, 2012, 05.24AM IST
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THRISSUR: As many as 41 mental patients, including a few from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, were rescued from an illegal mental health centre in a raid conducted by the district medical authorities at Avanoor panchayat in Thrissur on Monday.
The centre has been identified as Santhi Bhavan Sarvodaya Panguvekkal Charitable Society. The patients were rescued from a room which had no roof and five of them were found chained to the windows.
"Serious human rights violations have been committed against the patients in the centre. Many of them were found to have been beaten up by the people running the centre. The inmates were found living in the open, battling the heat and rain. They were treated like street dogs," said T K Raju, a technical assistant with the district medical office.
Earlier there had been allegations of many inmates from the centre disappearing. Following this, the health inspectors inspected the centre on December 23 and found that it was functioning illegally and the inmates were being ill-treated.
It was also found that the patients from other states had left the centre after making entries in the register in Malayalam. "As per the register, there were 78 patients undergoing treatment in the centre. But we could rescue only 41. We have no idea about the whereabouts of the remaining patients. It raises suspicion," Raju said.
The health inspectors who conducted inspection had submitted a report to the district medical officer (DMO).
On Monday, the report was handed over to the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), who in turn ordered the health department officials and police to shift the patients immediately.
The centre was registered as a charitable society, not a mental health centre, in Peramangalam in 2006. Later, it was shifted to Avanoor and the authorities were not informed about this move.
The rescued patients have been admitted to the district mental hospital. CJM P S Antony visited the patients in the hospital and directed the hospital superintendent to provide treatment to them for 10 days. DMO has submitted a preliminary report on the human rights violations in the centre.The Permangalam police have taken a person named Joshy into custody in connection with this case.
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THRISSUR: As many as 41 mental patients, including a few from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, were rescued from an illegal mental health centre in a raid conducted by the district medical authorities at Avanoor panchayat in Thrissur on Monday.
The centre has been identified as Santhi Bhavan Sarvodaya Panguvekkal Charitable Society. The patients were rescued from a room which had no roof and five of them were found chained to the windows.
"Serious human rights violations have been committed against the patients in the centre. Many of them were found to have been beaten up by the people running the centre. The inmates were found living in the open, battling the heat and rain. They were treated like street dogs," said T K Raju, a technical assistant with the district medical office.
Earlier there had been allegations of many inmates from the centre disappearing. Following this, the health inspectors inspected the centre on December 23 and found that it was functioning illegally and the inmates were being ill-treated.
It was also found that the patients from other states had left the centre after making entries in the register in Malayalam. "As per the register, there were 78 patients undergoing treatment in the centre. But we could rescue only 41. We have no idea about the whereabouts of the remaining patients. It raises suspicion," Raju said.
The health inspectors who conducted inspection had submitted a report to the district medical officer (DMO).
On Monday, the report was handed over to the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), who in turn ordered the health department officials and police to shift the patients immediately.
The centre was registered as a charitable society, not a mental health centre, in Peramangalam in 2006. Later, it was shifted to Avanoor and the authorities were not informed about this move.
The rescued patients have been admitted to the district mental hospital. CJM P S Antony visited the patients in the hospital and directed the hospital superintendent to provide treatment to them for 10 days. DMO has submitted a preliminary report on the human rights violations in the centre.The Permangalam police have taken a person named Joshy into custody in connection with this case.
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