A day in psych ward cures history sheeter of all his histrionics

By Gunwanti Paraste

Tired of the antics of a drama king — a history-sheeter — who deployed histrionics to escape serious punishment each time he was once arrested, the Samarth police station (PS) police officers determined to give him an revel in of an entire life, by means of spending time in a ward for the mentally challenged — and it labored.

Within 24 hours of being there, the legal shed his hysteria and begged to be let off, admitting that he was once using his outbursts as a ploy to chase away police custody.

Firoz Maqbul Khan alias Babali, a 46-year-old resident of Nana Peth, has 49 cases registered in opposition to for bodily violence and assets offences. He has been booked beneath sections 392 (theft) and 506(2) (intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in addition to beneath the Arms Act. On the evening of June eight this 12 months, he beat up the landlord of a cigarette vending kiosk when he was once denied a free smoke. He also made away with Rs 3,640. The kiosk proprietor, Arif Ramzan Tamboli, lodged a complaint the next day, based on which crime department picked up Khan from his home round 10.30 pm on June 14.

Predictably, his theatrics were unleashed once he was once dropped at the police station. Cops then chose to park him in the lock-up at Lashkar PS. But his tantrums proved too much for police there. Soon, the folks at Samarth PS were summoned to take away their prisoner.

At 1.30 am on June 15, Khan was once shifted to Sassoon General Hospitals. Here as smartly, he kept up his act and the docs, together with the police officers, determined to confess him in Ward 26, supposed for the mentally challenged, which came about at 3.30 am. While Khan endured with his deranged behaviour, it soon dawned on him where he was once, as other inmates started approaching him for unsolicited chats and hugs.

Within 24 hours, the person calmed down, according to the police officers. He even refused to eat the food served, fearing it to be spiked with drugs that might in truth have an effect on his mental steadiness. He briefly modified his tact, looking to determine his sanity with the docs and the investigating officer (IO) who referred to as on him. He started begging to be taken out of the ward. He admitted he was once petrified that soon, he could be packed off to Yerwada Mental Hospital.

The docs let him stew for three days, whilst they observed him. “Whenever one of these case is dropped at us, we do a full clinical examination, gazing the person with out administering any treatment, until we're in a position to attract a certain conclusion about their mental well being and write our file accordingly. We can't be influenced by means of what police officers or the perpetrator try to galvanize upon us,” defined Dr Ajay Taware, scientific superintendent of BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital.

On June 18, Khan was once produced in courtroom, where his sanity was once certified by means of the Sassoon docs, and he was once remanded in two days of police custody. The police had controlled to overcome him at his recreation. “Each time he was once arrested previous, he would do such things as striking a blade in his mouth or nicking himself or threatening to leap throughout the window. Looking at his behaviour, the courtroom would invariably empathise with his scenario and pass a lenient sentence in his favour. This had to prevent. So we determined to take care of him another way this time. We let him play out his dramatics, that earned him a place in the mental ward,” identified police sub-inspector Prabhakar Kapure, who is the IO in the case.

Each time he was once arrested, he’d place a blade in his mouth, nick himself or threaten to leap out of a window. The courtroom invariably empathised, passed a lenient sentence

— PSI Prabhakar Kapure, Samarth PS