Lamenting on the ill-treatment of the mentally ill in the country, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Dr Adarsh Sen Anand today said 10 states still lodge patients in jails in violation of the human rights charter.
Speaking at a seminar, Dr Anand said only Rajasthan, J-K, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Manipur and Assam have worked to improve the conditions for mentally ill patients in hospitals and centres, as per NHRC directions. The panel had directed all states to shift mentally ill patients who have no criminal record to asylums.
Dr Anand said the Commission had issued clear directions to states to improve conditions in asylums after the death of 26 chained patients of Erawadi, Tamil Nadu, in a fire.