CUTTACK: A 40-year-old psychiatric patient undergoing treatment at the mental health institute of SCB Medical College and Hospital was allegedly beaten to death by the security personnel and attendants in the wee hours of Wednesday for attempting to escape the facility.
The deceased Srikant Das of Jajpur Road, was admitted to the centre two days back. He died at around 4 am. His brother Binod Das, wife Sasmita and their neighbour, who were present when the incident reportedly took place, alleged that the hospital staff beat Srikant using a plastic pipe.
They claimed that Srikant suffered multiple injuries on his body following which he died.
Sasmita alleged that everything was normal till 9 pm on Tuesday. “However, my husband suddenly became restless and insisted on leaving the facility and going back home. He even attempted to escape for which the security staff and attendants caught hold of him, tied his hands and legs to the bed and assaulted him mercilessly with the plastic pipe. Though we pleaded with them to stop, they continued beating him,” she claimed.
Binod alleged his brother tried to escape the facility and hid himself inside a toilet on the ground floor. “Our neighbour requested him to come out and as soon as he did, the hospital staff took him to the ward on the first floor and beat him,” he stated in his FIR lodged with Mangalabag police.
ACP Girija Shankar Chakraborty said basing on the FIR, a case was registered. “The body has been sent for postmortem and further investigation is underway,” he said.
SCB mental health institute director Dr Sarada Prasanna Swain could not be contacted over the matter. Meanwhile, SCB superintendent Prof Jyotish Chandra Choudhary said the hospital authorities would cooperate with police in investigating the case.