Burnt bodies in Jaipur asylum

As the smoke in the blazing room settled, policemen found a burnt bicycle piled on top of a heap of burning mattresses. And buried between the mattresses were the bodies of 38-year-old Shouvik Chakravarty and Kallu.

‘‘They were both lying side-by-side. Their hands had been tied behind their backs and their feet were also secured with gauge and bandage. Their heads had been noosed in together and then burnt. The post-mortem will indicate whether they were killed before being burnt or died due to suffocation,’’ said Additional SP Rohit Mahajan.

The ward housed 60 patients and there were two hospital staff on duty who didn’t hear or see anything unusual. And the fact that two patients were ‘‘missing’’ at 8 pm on Tuesday didn’t alarm them unduly. Police said, during the mandatory headcount after the duty staff of Male ward I changed shifts at around 8 pm, it was noticed that two patients were missing. Shrugging their shoulders, the men on duty assumed the missing patients must have been discharged and figured they would sort out the matter in the morning.

Chakravarty was admitted in the hospital in June 2000. ‘‘He was mentally unbalanced for almost 15 years, but we brought him here only two years ago,’’ said Sajal Chakravarty, Souvik’s elder brother. ‘‘We used to come from Bhilwara and visit him once in a while. But we haven’t been in touch for a year now.’’ Kallu was brought by police in October 2001.

Investigating officials say the double murders were committed by an insider since access to the ward would have been difficult. The only entrance into Male ward I is through a barred and locked door, the key to which is with duty staff. Once through the first door, there is another grill door that leads into a courtyard enclosed by three rooms housing the 60 patients of the ward.

‘‘Inmates with criminal tendencies couldn’t have done this since they were locked up in a different room,’’ said Mahajan. ‘‘That leaves us with 53-odd patients and of course the hospital staff. But right now, the finger of suspicion is pointing at a few patients and we are working with doctors to gather evidence from the others.’’

Police are also looking for legal opinion that will explain how they should deal with the case, where the main suspects are mentally challenged. Normally, they are not held responsible for their acts.

There is a strange unrest in the ward, patients banging on doors and nervous relatives looking for an escape route. Embarrassed hospital staff refuse any clarification on how the murders could have taken place right under their noses.