*Manjiri Damle* *25-JAN-2012*
*PUNE* : Santosh Mane, the 39-year-old driver, who moved down people and vehicles in Pune on Wednesday, was treated by a psychiatrist, the driver's older brother Jhanak Mane told TheHindu on the phone from Satara. “Yes, he was seeking treatment about two years ago. He had complained of uneasiness in the head… a sensation of pins and needles in the head. He would mutter to himself,” Jhanak Mane said. He said his brother consulted psychiatrist Dilip Barute and was put on medication. “Now, the police have taken his case papers from the doctor,” he said. He broke down while speaking of his brother and the family back home in Solapur. “Our father passed away and a condolence meeting was to be held shortly. I had asked him to take leave and come home, but he could not get leave. This morning, all of us got a shock when we learnt about what happened,” an inconsolable Jhanak Mane said. Santosh had joined duty after about one-and-a-half months of treatment. “He would come home on Friday and leave for Pune the next day to join duty. Throughout the week, he stayed in Pune.” Santosh, his brother said, has two sons and two daughters. They all go to school. Dr. Barute said the family had brought him for treating “mania and schizophrenia.” “The treatment was on for about one-and-a-half months. His condition improved. I cannot say if he continued to take his medicines after that or had stopped them. In many cases, patients stop medication when they feel better. Incidents [like the one on Wednesday] can happen, but this is an extreme case,” the doctor said. However, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) said that Santosh's medical and leave records were all normal and there was no record of any medical treatment. “The Managing Director personally checked his records of the last ten years,” Mukund Dhas, public relations officer, MSRTC told The Hindu on the phone. “He [Santosh] has not taken any medical leave or long leave in these ten years. The only time he went on leave was when his father died last year.” Mr. Dhas said Santosh was on duty on Friday evening. “He drove from Gangapur in Karnataka to Pune. The MD also interrogated the conductor of the bus who said [Santosh] was completely normal. On Saturday, he was allotted morning duty at 10.30 a.m. He came at 8.15 a.m. and requested an early duty. He was told the duty time could not be changed; that it was not possible. He said, ‘okay' and that he would come back at 10.30 a.m. After that I don't know what happened, but he just took off with the bus. Some of our staff members went after him and tried to pull him out, but they could not as he picked up speed. The police vehicle which followed him for 20 minutes fired ten rounds, but could not stop him.” In his 11 years of service as a driver, Santosh had only “four minor accidents,” Mr. Dhas said. “There is no record of any medical leave. We reimburse the medical bills. There is no long leave either. He was driving fine till yesterday. When he was caught, I am told he was talking nonsense. He said he did not remember anything. His co-workers also said his interactions with them were normal.” Meanwhile, the MSRTC has formed a technical committee to look into the medical records of the over 37,000 drivers employed with them. “The committee will examine leave and medial records and prepare a report within a month. Based on the report, measures will be taken,” Mr. Dhas said. Besides announcing compensation, the MSRTC has said it would foot the bill of victims admitted to private hospitals. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2832222.ece --------------------------------- timesofindia.indiatimes.comhttp:// timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Solapur-psychiatrist-says-he-treated-mane-for-psychosis/articleshow/11635145.cms Solapur psychiatrist says he treated mane for 'psychosis' PUNE: Solapur-based psychiatrist Dilip Burte on Wednesday said he had treated MSRTC driver Santosh Mane for " psychosis" around one-and-a-half to two years ago. Burte said his preliminary observations were that Mane showed "symptoms of schizophrenia and mania". Speaking to TOI from Solapur, Burte said, "Mane's relatives had brought him to me around one-and-a-half to two years ago. After talking to his relatives and His examination had revealed he showed occasional symptoms of irrelevant talk, excess talk and disturbed sleep. I prescribed medicines and asked him to consult me again after a month. However, he did not return. My preliminary observations were symptoms of schizophrenia and mania." Burte said he has Mane's case paper record but that it would take him some time to locate it. Mane's brother Janak, who spoke to reporters at their native village Kavthali in Uttar Solapur taluka of Solapur, claimed Mane started showing symptoms of "mental imbalance" a few years ago after his first wife died of heart attack and he suffered a head injury. However, MSRTC officials and the city police said Mane was physically and mentally fit. The MSRTC officials also denied having any information about Mane's medical history. "If at all he had a medical history, he never told us. We are not aware of or have any reports about his medical treatment," said V S Divte, senior ST depot manager at Swargate. Divte said Mane had taken the pre-recruitment medical test. "However, he did not take any test after that," he said. Divte said, "Mane's previous record has remained fairly good. No complaints have been registered with us as far his duty timings or sincerity at work is concerned. He would remain present on duty shifts at the stipulated timings. There have been no incidents where Mane insisted that he wanted to go on any particular trip. We also do not have any complaints against him from other staff, including drivers and conductors, at the Swargate depot." Janak said Mane had twice offered to resignfrom the job. "He had told the ST officials he should not be given long-distance trips as he had a mental problem, But his superiors neither accepted his resignation nor his request. Fed up with this, he did not go to work for some days. However, he resumed work as he was pressurized to join again," he said. Janak claimed on Tuesday, before his brother was told to drive to Gangapur, he again approached the officials with a requested to the officials. "This is a result of extreme mental pressure," he alleged. "We did not get any resignation letter from Mane. Also, he had never said he would be unavailable for any shift. He never told us he did not want to go on long trips," Divte said. Earlier in the day, inspector Dattatreya Sonawane of the Solapur taluka police station visited Kavthali to verify Mane's identity. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Solapur-psychiatrist-says-he-treated-mane-for-psychosis/articleshow/11635145.cms -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. 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