Experts to examine mental health of Delhi riots accused

The man, through his counsel, had sought bail stating that he was a “person of unsound mind.” Along with the bail plea, the counsel had also submitted the man’s medical records on August 28.

A team of doctors, as part of a medical board, have started assessing the mental health of a man who is suspected of having schizophrenia and has been arrested by Delhi Police for being involved in three murders during the February Delhi riots.

RAF personnel seen on patrol at Shiv Vihar after six months since the North East Delhi riots, in New Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO/For Representative Purposes Only)

The man was arrested from Karawal Nagar, north-east Delhi, during the course of investigations, police said .

A Delhi court, on September 22, had passed an order for a medical board to be constituted after the jail superintendent informed that the suspect has been an outpatient department patient at IHBAS since 2011 and was being treated for “paranoid schizophrenia.”

The court will now hear the case on October 6, when the medical board would submit its opinion on the accused.

Additional sessions judge Vinod Yadav had directed the superintendent of jail number- 13, Mandoli, to put together a medical board — under the supervision of director of the Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS) — and to communicate to the court about the actual mental condition of the man after thoroughly examining him as per existing protocol.

The court said that the board shall also communicate to it “whether it is safe to release the suspect on bail in the above matters, which are cases of murder and rioting.”

“In case, it is not advisable to release him on bail, then whether he has to be kept in jail or elsewhere; the board shall also communicate as to whether the applicant is capable of taking his defence in the above-noted matters,” the court said in its September 22 order.

The man, through his counsel, had sought bail stating that he was a “person of unsound mind.” Along with the bail plea, the counsel had also submitted the man’s medical records on August 28.

“Yes, we have received the order and assessment would be done and a report be submitted at an appropriate time,” said Nimesh Desai, director, IHBAS.

The suspect has been charged for the murder of Veer Bhan,48, Alok Kumar Tiwari,32, and Dinesh Kumar 35, all of which took place in Karawal Nagar during the riots between February 23 and 27 this year.

In his report, the jail superintendent informed the court that the applicant has been registered as OPD since August 13, 2011. The report said he has been diagnosed to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, for which treatment is required.

While passing the order, the court said that it was incumbent and in the interest of justice to have a proper diagnosis of the applicant, as to whether he is a person of “unsound mind” or not and if he is one, then whether he is capable of defending himself in the matter.