Tuesday, Mar 22, 2005
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2005 |
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Thiruvananthapuram
By Our Staff Reporter
Thiruvananthapuram, March 21. The first thing that Raghuraman did when he stepped out of the Mental Health Centre (MHC) was to throw away his worn out slippers. "We'll buy a pair of sandals on the way," his wife told him. After 14 years as an inmate in the forensic ward of the mental hospital here, Raghuraman, 49, today went back to his house in Nedumangad, near here. He had been jailed in 1991 on charges of murdering his relative. Though he was acquitted in 1995, the court had sentenced him to the mental hospital for life. Raghuraman realises that he is one of the lucky few to have secured his freedom. The first and the last time any one was released from the forensic ward was in 2001, when four persons were sent home with their families. There are 12 others like Raghuraman inside the high-security enclosure inside the MHC, all of whom were acquitted of their crimes, but cannot go home as their families do not want them back. Clad in a new dhoti and shirt, Raghuraman seemed a bit nervous but happy, as he walked out of the hospital. "My son had just been born, when, in 1991 I came here as an undertrial prisoner. In these 14 years, I have just seen him once. He must have become a big boy now," he said. Raghuraman had been on psychiatric drugs since 1986. He claims that he committed murder by accident while he was trying to intervene and stop people from fighting. His wife used to visit him once in a while at the hospital. In 2001, the Medical Board and the Board of Visitors at the hospital certified that he was fit to be released. However, it was only after much persuasion and counselling by the Superintendent of the MHC, S. Jayaram, and other staff members that his wife agreed to give an application seeking his release. His release order was issued by the Home Secretary last month. Raghuraman has been released on the basis of a bond his wife executed stating that she would keep him under her care and custody. A teacher in a private institution, she hopes he will once again settle down to a normal life once he is with his family. Said Dr. Jayaram: "His illness is well under control. But he will continue to take medicines and come to the MHC every six months."
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