SHRC seeks report on deaths of inmates at IMH

Following a report published in DT Next on November 25 and 26 regarding deaths of Institute of Mental Health (IMH) inmates, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) issued notice to the Director of Medical Education and the Director of Institute of Mental Health calling for a detailed report on the total number of deaths and the basic facilities available for the treatment of mental health inmates at the institute.

SHRC on taking suo moto cognizance of the report has posed a string of questions to the Institute authorities seeking to know as to how many inmates of the Institute of Mental Health have died during the past three years and what caused their deaths.

The other questions seeking explanation included steps taken by the authorities to prevent the spread of alleged diseases to the inmates and whether basic facilities for medical treatment of inmates at IMH is available. If the Institute of Mental Health does not have facilities available for the treatment of inmates at IMH itself, the authorities are answerable to provide the details of the steps taken by the institute, the notice said.

SHRC will list the matter for consideration before the Commission after four weeks and thus, Director of Medical Education and the Director of Institute of Mental Health are required to submit the report to the Commission by post within that time frame. The Commission stated that in case of any default, further action might be taken.

DT Next published a report on the death of the IMH inmates and lack of facilities to treat them at the Institute itself as they are usually referred to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for treatment.