*Soumittra S Bose* * Feb 20, 2011* * * *NAGPUR*: Jaripatka police were at their wits end unable to decide what to do with an unwelcome guest. The unwelcomed guest was a mentally ill man whom the cops had brought to police station after he was found sleeping in the guest room of a senior executive officer of a private construction company.
Such situations are not new for cops who repeatedly face such predicaments when handling mentally ill persons and vagabonds. Recently the cops had to deal with a mentally deranged man who had climbed on a lamp post near Cotton Market. The man had to be cajoled to come down before being whisked away to Ganeshpeth police station. He was later allowed to go. In another case a mentally challenged man damaged the sword of Chhatrapati Shivaji statue near Gandhi Gate last year. Police had to take adequate precaution so that the incident wouldn't go the communal way. This being the second incident involving the sword of the statue that a permanent police picket has been established at the place. Sakkardara police too had to face a similar problem when a mentally ill man damaged Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue triggering law and order problem in the locality. Cops had to make strenuous efforts to quell the tension and also replace the damaged statue with a new one. But the recent incident at the Mecosabagh residence of Pankaj Maniktala exceeds all comical contents till date. A mentally disturbed man was found sleeping in the guest room on the first floor of the Maniktala's bungalow. The man was fast asleep wearing Maniktala's shirt. He had sneaked into the room after Maniktala's wife and son had left in the morning. While Maniktala and his younger son were sleeping in other rooms, the man first devoured all the snacks in the kitchen before settling in the guest room for a nap. Maniktala called up the cops after spotting the uninvited guest in the house. The man was still sleeping when the cops reached the Maniktala's house. "The cops woke him up and the man after becoming awake stretched himself before flashing a smile to all standing around him," said a surprised Maniktala. The man was later taken to Jaripatka police station from where he was allowed to go as cops couldn't decided what to do with him. "These mentally disturbed people are treated like perfect guests at the police stations. We have to offer them snacks with tea and meals before allowing them to go or leaving them at government shelters. We can't leave them unattended or allow them to get angry otherwise they would shower us with a volley of abuses," said a constable sharing his experience. He also said that cops are often scared to handle these deranged people as in a fit of rage they sometimes even have the tendency to bite and scratch. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/7535286.cms?prtpage=1 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
