Sept 9 hijacker software engineer, family says he was depressed

Though Sasiraj’s name was flashed on the day of the attempted hijack itself, the Chennai police initially said they couldn’t locate his address—which was stamped on his 1994 issued passport—since all the ’94 records in the police station were missing. Six days ago, they found their way to his home in Tiruvottiyur in Chennai. ‘‘Our family has lived here for ages. This is the first time police have entered our home. We are ashamed,’’ says Sasiraj’s uncle, M Baskar.

According to the family, Sasiraj, who studied in Chennai and Vellore, was diagnosed with depression when he returned from the US two years ago. Sasiraj reportedly lost all his money while in the US. His uncle says he hasn’t a clue whether his nephew’s bankruptcy triggered his depression, or the fact that his sister’s marriage broke up, or the death of his father soon after.

His mother says her son was a loner—the photographs he sent home from the US were always of trees and the river. The only thing he ever bought was books. He apparently had no friends, and didn’t liked to meet people.

‘‘After he returned, he was afraid of everything. He used to tell us he always felt like somebody was pushing him. We took him to Christian Medical College (CMC) Hospital in Vellore and they put him on medication but he discontinued it, saying it caused him pain,’’ says Baskar. Doctors at CMC Vellore refused comment.

The family then switched Sasiraj to a psychiatrist in Chennai. When contacted, the psychiatrist, who didn’t want to be named, said his patient was suffering from ‘‘poor impulse control’’. And that though CMC had diagnosed Sasiraj with schizophrenia, his diagonosis was that Sasiraj suffered from a ‘‘mild form of epilepsy’’. ‘‘But if he is the culprit then he should be brought to book,’’ he says.

The doctor, who met Sasiraj last in March 2002, claims he prescribed medication, but adds: ‘‘If he discontinued the medicines I gave him, there are chances of a relapse.’’

The doctor also says he believes there is no way Sasiraj would be ‘‘proactive in his violence, only reactive’’ and ‘‘so something must have happened on the flight that got him restless and agitated’’.

Sasiraj was ‘‘fine as long as he was on the medication, but once he went off it, he wouldn’t even wear his clothes properly, he wouldn’t shave, he would abuse everyone. He never got violent, though,’’ says his mother. The family says it tried to prevent Sasiraj from travelling, but every time he felt slightly better, he would insist on leaving the country to look for a job. Baskar says he once flew to Singapore and when he got there he became ‘‘so sick he couldn’t even figure out where his return ticket was’’.

The second time Sasiraj tried to go, the family called up various airlines and agencies and blocked the tickets. ‘‘We did that thrice, but he still managed to go. He had to be sent back by his brother’s friend,’’ says Baskar, who adds that his nephew also attempted suicide a couple of times.

The family wants to meet Sasiraj, but says there’s no information on his whereabouts. ‘‘The police, airlines officials, investigating team members keep asking us questions, but they give us no answers. Where is he? Why aren’t they telling us how he is? Why can’t we meet him?’’ asks Baskar.