This is a story of a law graduate who had come to Kerala seeking spiritual answers only to be killed brutally allegedly by the warden of a mental hospital.
Satnam Singh, 23, was a law student from the Ram Manohar Lohia University in Lucknow. Considered to be very intelligent, Singh had come down to Kollam earlier this month to visit the Mata Amritanandamayi Ashram in the city. When Singh entered the ashram, he was arrested on charges of trespass and handed over to the police.
After questioning the police suspected that he had some psychological problems and referred him to the District Mental Hospital at Tiruvananthapuram.
On August 4, Singh met with his end when he was reportedly beaten up by the hospital staff with the help of other persons. This fact was confirmed by Inspector General of Police B Sandhya, who also said that the warden of the hospital has been arrested.
It was the crime branch who arrested the warden who along with four others allegedly beat up Singh with cables and also smashed his head to the wall. The accused claimed that he had become too violent and hence they tried to control him.
The police say that a chargesheet has been filed against these people. What is worse is that the warden had taken the help of four undertrial prisoners to beat Singh up. The four were also at the hospital for treatment.
Satnam Singh, according to his family members, was a brilliant student. However, according to eye witnesses, Singh on entering the ashram began reciting some lines which led to him being mistaken as a terrorist.
However, the police later ascertained that he had a mental disorder and hence referred him to the mental hospital.
Singh's post mortem report confirmed that he died within 24 hours of being admitted to the hospital and also states that the cause of the death was a head injury. It also confirmed that the injury was due to repeated hitting on the head.
However, there is a bit of confusion regarding the real accused in the case. Some believe that it was due to torture in the police station, but the police maintain that he was killed in the mental hospital.
Image: Satnam Singh
