*Utkarsh Anand* * 10 Mar 2011* * * *New Delhi* : Stuck in a financial rut, Sonali and her husband Pramod Sachdev, a Delhi Jal Board employee, allegedly poisoned their daughter Jia and seven-month-old son Jatin before consuming poison themselves at their Mahavir Nagar house in March last year. While Pramod and the children died, Sonali survived only to land in jail. Suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder, the 31-year-old woman is said to be suicidal. While she serves her sentence in a cell with only a rag doll for company, six jail personnel keep constant vigil over her to ensure that she does not try to commit suicide again. Sonali, who keeps talking to herself about the various ways she could end her life, occasionally requests jail officials to give her a hand in that regard.
After being informed about her condition by a letter from the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA), the High Court sympathised with Sonali and directed officials to take appropriate action. It also expressed anguish at the action of a trial court judge, who had rejected a jail superintendent’s report to get her admitted as an in-patient at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Services (IHBAS). The High Court’s concern triggered a PIL, which was put to rest on Wednesday after the Delhi government expressed its commitment to ensure the safety and welfare of all such mentally disturbed inmates. It also submitted a fresh set of guidelines to handle them. The Standing Counsel for the government Najmi Waziri told a Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna that senior officers of Tihar jail had prepared the guidelines after holding a meeting with experts from IHBAS on March 7. According to them, the jail authorities will promptly refer “high-risk” prisoners to the institute for treatment. “Prompt identification and immediate referral of the patients to the mental health facility in IHBAS for detailed evaluation and management of high risk cases like acute suicidal state, homicidal behaviour, psychotic excitement, etc. In all such cases, urgent reception orders may be passed for in-patient treatment. In all such cases, the court should side with the patient,” the guidelines stated. Meanwhile, Tihar Jail officials said they have requested the Delhi government to provide trained staff and medical equipment to deal with such prisoners.7-year-old made to sit on class floor for 6 months http://www.indianexpress.com/news/govt-assures-aid-for-mentally-ill-inmates/760386/0 -- 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
