COIMBATORE: As per the norm, if a person is believed to be mentally ill, and poses a risk to themselves or others and has no supportive care from their family, the police may intervene. They can do so by registering a case under Section 100 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, after receiving a complaint from a neighbour or public representative in the area.
After registering the case, police shall take the person into protective custody and inform the nearest mental health establishment or magistrate. The person should then be taken to a government hospital for assessment, where they must be kept and observed for ten days to confirm that they are mentally unsound. During this custody, the police must ensure that no handcuffs or force are used unless absolutely necessary, and the person's rights must be protected.
After observing the person for ten days, a certificate will be issued stating that the person is mentally unstable. Upon getting the certificate, police should take them to a government-run mental health facility. In Tamil Nadu, those who are ill are taken to Kilpauk Mental Health Hospital.
Speaking to TNIE, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police B Sakthivel said, "Mostly, police avoid taking on this responsibility as the process takes a minimum of 15 days. When I was working as a SI in Mathur police station in Keeranur sub-division in Pudukottai district in 1990, I rescued a 17-year-old mentally unsound girl from Neerpalani village. Villagers had asked for help to rescue and provide a home for the girl as she had no supportive care."
"After getting a complaint from the panchayat president, we rescued the girl with the support of two women police. The girl behaved aggressively and bit the women constables. She needed to be monitored for ten days in the GH due to her aggressive behaviour. I had no option but to depute two police constables on a shift basis for ten days at the GH. On the 14th day after her rescue and getting a certificate from the GH, we took the girl to Chennai by train and handed her over to the Kilpauk center," he added.
"Others in my department made fun of the incident. Even the two women constables still rebuke me by pointing out the incident. After seeing my experience, I have never seen or heard of any policemen taking such cases in my entire service as they would face a lot of struggle to complete the process," he said.
