A 15-year-old mentally challenged boy is being kept in chains in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.
News reports said Mohammed Raja, a resident of Dengura village, about 120 km from here, has been kept in a room tied with chains. "He becomes violent when we remove the chains - sometimes dangerous. Therefore, we have kept him in chains," the boy's elder sister told IANS."Once Raja saw his reflection in the well and jumped into it. He was somehow saved by villagers," she adds.
Raja started behaving abnormally only four years ago. Although he has been undergoing treatment for the past two years, there has been no marked improvement in his condition. Raja, with his hands tied, usually is taken to Ranchi for treatment by the male members of the family.
When Raja first showed symptoms of abnormality his family took him to an exorcist. "There are several mentally challenged patients in this village. But most of the families depend on exorcists as they cannot afford the expensive treatments of hospitals," said Sajda Khatoon, whose daughter is also mentally challenged.
It is ironical that more than 15 cases of mentally challenged patients being kept in chains have been reported from the state, which boasts two renowned mental hospitals.
(Source: IANS)
