Himanshi Dhawan, TNN, May 28, 2010
NEW DELHI: In a nether world where reality peeps in only occasionally, Hitler Baba Khan lives in a world of his own, feeding off fantasies scripted by his despair and pain. Once Roy Varghese and now a statistic in a Jaipur jail, Khan has been in prison for 18 years, the last seven as an undertrial.
At age 53, Varghese is a long-detected schizophrenic with failing eyesight who ran away from his home in Kerala when he was a teenager. He ended up with a conviction on a drug charge in 1992 and received the maximum 10-year sentence. Some time later, he began to develop signs of mental illness and in 2001, was admitted to a district hospital where he was diagnosed as schizophrenic. In police records, his self-given name became Hitler Baba Khan.
His condition made him unfit for release even after he completed his sentence and this is where his fate got sealed. While receiving treatment, on July 2, 2003, Roy allegedly set two other mentally ill patients on fire causing their deaths. The police arrested Varghese and charged him with murder and culpable homicide under section 302 and 301 of IPC.
On July 3, 2003, he was presented before court where the medical board concluded that Varghese was a schizophrenic and not in a mental condition to understand court proceedings or fit to stand trial. Yet, human rights activists allege, he was sent back to prison instead of being moved to a facility to treat the mentally ill.
"Roy was sent back to prison, kept in solitary confinement instead of being taken to a mental institution," Pujya Pascal from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) said. Since then, time has not only stood still for Varghese but the windows to the outside world closed forever. Despite being diagnosed as in need for institutional care seven years ago, he remains trapped by a system in which he is voiceless.
RTI queries filed by CHRI reveal Jaipur jail authorities failed to regularly review undertrial cases. For instance, the chief judicial magistrate is supposed to review cases every month but according to RTI records, made only five visits in 2009. Shockingly, filing of status reports of undertrials is irregular with jail authorities admitting to having lost the "performa" used to prepare a list of undertrials.
According to Pradeep Sharma, deputy superintendent of Central Jail, Jaipur, "We keep the prisoner in solitary confinement as he is mentally unstable and can harm other prisoners." Sharma confirmed the prison knew about his deteriorating mental health but said that he was being given treatment. On the delay in getting Varghese to a mental institution, Sharma said, "We are waiting for the court order.''
Of his family, there is just his sister Vinita George (name changed on request) who has no memories of him. "He ran away from home when I was very young. I don't remember him. And now he can barely see me. We have been fighting to get him out but it has taken so many years. I don't want to give up hope," said Vinita, who is a practising spiritual counsellor.
Vinita has hired advocate Gyan Singh who said the matter was before the sessions court. Singh said the plea to transfer Varghese from prison to a mental asylum was rejected by the magistrate earlier. Varghese seems to have suffered from an incorrect interpretation of the law. According to legal experts, if it was medically proved that a person is unfit to understand the import of his actions, then under CrPC 330 he should be sent to a mental institution.
A petition could have been moved by the jail authorities or prosecution itself. "In this case, prison officials have been lax in reviewing the case. He could have been sent to a mental institution on the day that he was produced before the court for the first time," a senior official from Delhi's Tihar jail said.
Even as hope dims, Varghese's health is fast deteriorating. He is nearly blind with only occasional flashes of coherence. Sister Mariola, a social worker with Sophia College in Ajmer who has been visiting him since 2004, said, "Some times he has grandiose feelings when he thinks he is Hitler. But in my last meeting, he recognised me. I had taken a birthday cake for him at the request of his family. He pleaded with me asking me to get him out."
Expressing disappointment at the lack of relief for Varghese, CHRI's Maja Daruwala said he has been left to battle a disease alone -- one that he does not even understand. "With the right care, he could have got better. Instead, he is in solitary confinement. This is worse than hanging or torture."
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