BENGALURU: Is Sonali Sen, the 39-year-old woman who allegedly killed her mother, packed the body in a suitcase and surrendered before police, a criminal or a victim of compelling circumstances?
Some mental health experts who spoke to TNIE, said Sen may have reached a ‘breaking point’ before she allegedly committed the crime. She has a son with mental illness and was living with her husband and two elderly, warring women.
“Firstly, the police need to investigate whether Sonali is the real accused or if she is covering up for someone else at home,” said a mental health expert who didn’t wish to be named. “It’s important to know what her support system is at home, and it’s equally important to get her psychiatric assessment done to find out if she has some mental health issues and is under medication. She should be observed for some days to know and assess her mental health condition,” said the expert. “Prima facie, she seems to be under a lot of pressure with very little support at home.”
Sonali reportedly told the police that she killed her mother and brought the body to the police station to avoid any kind of harassment to her family. “She took the onus of the crime and narrated the sequence of events leading to the murder without breaking down,” said sources.
A mental health expert, who also runs a school for special needs children, said that mothers “always bear the blame of producing a special needs child, and the entire burden of looking after him/her falls on the mother. Without any support system at home, it takes a toll on her mental and physical health.
There are schools and vocational institutions for special needs children/young adults but there are no interim mechanisms to provide emotional support to the parents. The mother of a special needs child gets no respite. If there are elders at home who need to be looked after, it can be an emotionally and physically draining affair. The elders expect their children to look after them, but in cases like Sonali’s household, the children themselves need care and support. They find themselves helpless”.
Forensic psychiatry in India is still at a very nascent stage and there are very few forensic psychiatrists in the country.
Experts told TNIE it is necessary to conduct psychiatric assessment of accused like Sonali to understand why and under what circumstances they commit heinous crimes. “Unfortunately, in India, in rare cases police bring criminals for psychiatric evaluation,” said mental health experts who spoke on condition of anonymity, since the case is under investigation.