Freedom at midnight: Mentally ill ‘lose’ chains

It was freedom at midnight for the mentally ill at Yerwadi dargah. Following a tip-off that some newspaper was about to highlight the plight of these persons, some ‘‘officials’’ sneaked into the dargah in the wee hours of Saturday and reportedly unshackled the unfortunate ones.

The Indian Express today brought to light the plight of the mentally challenged patients. Ayya Levvai, one of the trustees of the Dargah committee, said he was witness to the incident. A few patients were even found wearing the ‘‘piece of chain’’ around their ankles.

Meanwhile, at a hurriedly convened press meet today, Ramanathapuram District Collector S. Vijayakumar said none of the mentally ill at the dargah were secured with a ‘‘leading chain’’. A team of doctors and revenue officials have been sent to the dargah to collect statistics on patients there, he added. The mentally ill will be classified into three categories; those abandoned, those staying at the dargah with their relatives and those who are not genuine patients.