Two inmates of the Regional Mental Hospital in Yerawada died of severe injuries on Thursday. According to the Yerawada police, they were attacked by another inmate following a dispute in the hospital's observation ward where inmates are kept for some time after they are admitted.
The police have registered a murder case and will probe if there were lapses on the part of the hospital administration.
The Yerawada police said the incident took place between 12 am and 1 am on Thursday. There were 28 inmates in the observation ward when the incident took place.
The police said Deepak Suravase, 28, first attacked Baburao Landage, 38, and then strangled Shamsuddin Bhanvadiya, 52. While Suravase is from Ahmednagar and was admitted to the ward on November 12, Landage is from Satara and Bhanvadiya from Kalyani Nagar, Pune. Senior inspector Kishor Jadhav said, "The details of the incident known to us are based on what Suravase has been telling us. It all started with Landage pulling Suravase's blanket. He then hit Landage with his fist and then banged his head against the wall. He hit him with hand and elbow and kicked him. Meanwhile, Shamsuddin started shouting. Suravase went up to him, strangled him and also banged his head against the floor."
Jadhav said Landage was admitted to the ward on November 13 and Shamsuddin on Tuesday.
"The injuries are so severe that they might have died immediately. The post mortem has confirmed that the deaths have occurred due to the injuries. The incident came to light after one of the male nurses on duty came to the ward to check on the patients," Jadhav said.
A complaint was registered by the on-duty male nurse Raju Dhiwar. DCP (Zone IV) Manoj Patil said, "People from the hospital management have told us that the on-duty guards did not hear any commotion because of the structure of the wards. We are looking into this. As we probe the case, we will also investigate whether there was any lapse on the part of the hospital administration. The duty logs will be checked and the rules of the duties of the staffers will also be taken into consideration."
"Suravase has now been shifted to a separate ward. Bodies of both the deceased were handed over to the relatives after autopsy," Jadhav said.
The officials of the Regional Mental Hospital in Yerawada has launched an internal inquiry into the incident where an inmate, Deepak Suravase, killed two others. Deepak was brought to the hospital eight days ago by his brother and was being treated for poly-substance abuse with psychosis. He had shown symptoms of irritability and aggressiveness, hospital authorities said. He had earlier underwent treatment in the hospital from March to July.
In the absence of hospital superintendent Vilas Bhailume, who is on leave, senior psychiatrist Dr Madhumita Bahale said a panel of three psychiatrists has been formed to probe into the incident. "Deepak was earlier admitted to the hospital from March to July and we are collecting facts about the case. During his re-admission some eight days ago, he was irritable and prone to aggressive and abusive behaviour. However, he was responding to medication and had mellowed down," Bahale said.
Bhailume when contacted said there have several incidents where patients get aggressive with the staff or other patients. "As per the protocol, they are managed by the doctors and attendants who either sedate them or then they are kept in an isolated room," he said. He recalled a similar case 4-5 years ago when a patient had attacked another leading to his death.
The hospital, the largest in Asia, is spread over 110 acres and takes care of 1,700 mentally-ill patients, including 700 women. Though every month 200 patients are discharged, Bhailume said it is important that patients stick to treatment regimen and continue to take medicines as relapse is reported in 30-40 per cent patients. On the staff strength in the hospital, Bahale said 40 posts for attendants are lying vacant.
Currently there are 350-odd class III and IV employees on the staff rolls. "We have our own calculations for providing attendants in each of 17 wards. There are at least 12-15 attendants who work in three shifts at each ward. We still do not know what transpired. The attendants did rush to the observation ward when they heard some noise. By then one of the patients was lying on the floor while the other had shouted for help. He however died even as our doctors immediately went to attend them," Bahale said.
Normally there are 65-70 patients in the observation ward and at the time of the incident, 28 patients were sleeping in the smaller adjoining ward.
Deepak was in this ward when he attacked Baburao Landge and Shamshuddin Bhanvadiya. Both patients have a history of schizophrenia and had availed of treatment from private hospitals for the last three years, Bahale said. Baburao was brought to the hospital by his father while Shamshuddin's wife had got him admitted.
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