Psych ward cures history sheeter of histrionics

By Gunwanti Paraste

Tired of the antics of a drama king — a history-sheeter — who deployed histrionics to escape severe punishment each and every time he used to be arrested, the Samarth police station (PS) cops decided to offer him an enjoy of a life-time, via spending time in a ward for the mentally challenged — and it worked.

Within 24 hours of being there, the prison shed his hysteria and begged to be let off, admitting that he used to be the usage of his outbursts as a ploy to push back police custody.

Firoz Maqbul Khan alias Babali, a 46-year-old resident of Nana Peth, has 49 circumstances registered in opposition to for bodily violence and property offences. He has been booked beneath sections 392 (robbery) 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 merchandising kiosk when he used to be denied a loose smoke. He additionally made away with Rs three,640. The kiosk proprietor, Arif Ramzan Tamboli, lodged a grievance the next day, in line with which crime department picked up Khan from his home round 10.30 pm on June 14.

Predictably, his theatrics were unleashed once he used to be brought to the police station. Cops then chose to park him in the lock-up at Lashkar PS. But his tantrums proved an excessive amount of for police there. Soon, the folks at Samarth PS were summoned to take away their prisoner.

At 1.30 am on June 15, Khan used to be shifted to Sassoon General Hospitals. Here as smartly, he saved up his act and the docs, in conjunction with the cops, decided to confess him in Ward 26, intended for the mentally challenged, which took place at three.30 am. While Khan endured together with his deranged behaviour, it quickly dawned on him where he used to be, as different inmates began coming near him for unsolicited chats and hugs.

Within 24 hours, the man calmed down, in line with the cops. He even refused to devour the meals served, fearing it to be spiked with medicines that would if truth be told affect his psychological stability. He quickly changed his tact, trying to establish his sanity with the docs and the investigating officer (IO) who known as on him. He began begging to be taken out of the ward. He admitted he used to be petrified that quickly, he would be packed off to Yerwada Mental Hospital.

The docs let him stew for 3 days, whilst they observed him. “Whenever this type of case is brought to us, we do a complete scientific examination, watching the person with out administering any treatment, till we are able to draw a certain conclusion about their psychological well being and write our report accordingly. We can't be influenced via what cops or the perpetrator try to provoke upon us,” defined Dr Ajay Taware, clinical superintendent of BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital.

On June 18, Khan used to be produced in court docket, where his sanity used to be qualified via the Sassoon docs, and he used to be remanded in two days of police custody. The police had controlled to overcome him at his recreation. “Each time he used to be arrested previous, he would do such things as putting a blade in his mouth or nicking himself or threatening to leap during the window. Looking at his behaviour, the court docket would invariably empathise together with his situation and move a lenient sentence in his favour. This had to stop. So we decided to handle him in a different way this time. We let him play out his dramatics, that earned him a place in the psychological ward,” pointed out police sub-inspector Prabhakar Kapure, who's the IO in the case.

Each time he used to be arrested, he’d position a blade in his mouth, nick himself or threaten to leap out of a window. The court docket invariably empathised, handed a lenient sentence

— PSI Prabhakar Kapure, Samarth PS