NIMHANS: Mentally disturbed prisoner who opened fire had sought to meet his mother

“Initially he was reclusive and not interacting. He refused to eat food. Two weeks later his condition improved but he relapsed to his former state again,” a psychiatry unit doctor said. According to the staff familiar with Vishwanath’s treatment, he suddenly demanded that his mother come to meet him to help him secure bail. “He wanted to get out of confinement,”a staff member said.

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Case workers who worked with Vishwanath said that they were unable to get his mother to visit him despite their best efforts. “Neither his mother Bhagyamma nor any other family member was willing to come citing fear and embarrassment over Vishwanath’s record,” hospital sources said.

The frustration over not being able to get bail to be free again and the non arrival of his family resulted in sharp and violent reactions from Vishwanath on a couple of occasions but he was overpowered and controlled by staff, hospital sources said. “His desperation got the better of him on Sunday leading to the violence act that caused his death” a case worker said.

“Unlike people who feel regret when they commit crimes due to impulsiveness or under the influence of substances ASPD cases are unpredictable. They have no guilt or moral sensitivity, they enjoy cold blooded violence and the infamy they gain out of it. Medication alone does not help these patients, they need family too,” a NIMHANS psychiatry department official said.

Senior staff at NIMHANS feel that a more humane approach is needed while handling patients in the prisoner wards since violent outbursts are rare. “The last time such an incident occurred was in 1996 – when a patient attacked another,” an official said.

NIMHANS is reviewing the Standard Operating Procedure and will lay more emphasis on monitoring patients with CCTV cameras and non lethal weapons, a senior staff member said.