Santosh Maruti Mane (39),an ST bus driver who went on a rampage that led to eight deaths on city roads on Wednesday morning,was on Saturday shifted to the regional mental hospital at Yerawada after medical tests at Sassoon Hospital confirmed that he was mentally ill. Following the Sassoon Hospital report,the Pune police produced Mane in court,seeking permission to send him to a mental hospital for observation. The court directed that Mane be kept under observation at the regional mental hospital in Yerawada till February 1, said assistant commissioner of police Rajendrasinh Mohite,the investigation officer. Mohite said a team of Pune police has been sent to Manes native house in Kauthali village in Solapur for questioning his family members about the incident. Mane has not yet given any statement about the incident that killed eight persons. He speaks about everything else,but asked about the incident,he turns blank, said Mohite. According to sources,psychiatrists at Sassoon Hospital,who examined Mane,concluded that he was suffering from a mental illness and at the time of the incident,was going through a bout of the disorder. Sassoon Hospital authorities recommended that Mane be shifted to the regional mental hospital at Yerawada owing to security reasons. When contacted,Dr Vilas Bhailume,medical superintendent,regional mental hospital at Yerawada,said Mane would be kept under observation till February 1. He will kept in a separate room and his behaviour,speech and other details will be recorded, he said. On Wednesday,Mane,who was attached to the Swargate MSRTC depot,had taken charge of the Pune-Satara bus parked at the depot. He then drove the bus at high speed on the wrong side of roads,travelling about 15 km in 45 minutes,killing eight persons and injuring 32. Manes family has claimed that he was suffering from a mental illness and had also undergone treatment from Dr Dilip Burate,a psychiatrist from Solapur. The Pune police had arrested Mane under Sections 302 (murder),307 (attempt to murder),324 and 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means),379 (theft) of the IPC as well as under sections of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. He was then remanded in police custody till February 3 by the magistrate court.
