VILLUPURAM: Three days after probing Anbu Jothi Ashramam - a private home for the mentally ill and destitute in Villupuram - district police on Monday night arrested four out of the eight accused. The owners were hospitalised and will be arrested after discharge, while two workers are at large, police said.
According to the FIR accessed by TNIE, the accused persons were booked under IPC sections 344, 294 (b), 322 , 323 , 354 (A) , 370 (3), 374 , and 324 read with 89, 92 (b), 92 (c) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
SASY (Social Awareness Society for Youth), a non-profit organisation demanded a probe into the owner’s claims of cremating bodies. Owner Jubin Baby told TNIE that he would get these bodies from Mundiyambakkam GH and local police. TNIE tried to reach out to the then-dean Dr Kundhavai Devi but got no response.
Koteeswara Rao, a member of the Tamil Nadu State Mental Health Authority said any institution accommodating mentally ill persons must file a reception order or enter into the Community Service Register (CSR) with the local police station as per Indian Mental Health Authority’s guidelines. When asked about whether such records are maintained at Kedar police station, Superintendent N Shreenatha said, “No, there is no requirement to file CSR or any entry with the local police station when a home is taking in an inmate.”
R Lalitha, a human rights activist from SASY said, “The owner runs a network of homes across the country and transports people without any proper record.” CB-CID must investigate this, she added.
Collector C Palani, in an exclusive interview with TNIE, said, “The owners along with six other workers have been booked under sections including rape.
As per SMHA order, the home remains shut and district administration will seal it following official protocol. All inmates were rescued and are sheltered at Mundiyambakkam GH. They will be sent home if a kin arrives to take them, otherwise, they will be shifted to government-approved shelters.” “We assure you that we will curb the illegal homes in Villupuram. A complete list of approved homes with contact details will be announced very soon and any complaints on suspicious institutions can be reported at 94441 38000,” he said.