Nayagarh: Kanhucharan Singh, a mentally ill man chained for several years here, is waiting for treatment. Unable to provide treatment, his mother was forced to keep him in shackles.
“If I unshackle my son he may hurt himself or others. I’m running from pillar to post pleading for help. But the administration has been ignoring my pleas,” said his mother.
Kanhucharan Singh, (25), son of Ashamani from Bodapada in the Sadar block of Nayagarh district, has been a burden on his widowed mother. When youths of his age are looking after their parents he has to be taken care of by his mother.
Kanhu’s family comprises his mother Ashamani and sister Nalini. His father Maheswar Singh passed away when he was only five years old and his sister was just a year old.
Ashamani did odd jobs and raised her two children. However, things turned for the worse after Kanhu became mentally ill.
He used to get angry quickly, often quarrel with people and often left home. Ashamani tried to get him treated with whatever money she had. However, his condition worsened and he began to behave abnormally. As days passed, his condition worsened and he started attacking others.
He often fled from home only to return after weeks and sometimes even months. Once he fled in 2014 and did not return for three years. Ashamani had lodged a missing complaint, but there was no trace of Kanhu.
Later, some locals spotted him wandering in Balasore railway station in 2017 and brought him home. Since then Ashamani has chained him fearing that he might flee again. However, she is not able to arrange for his treatment.
Meanwhile, Kanhu’s sister is studying Plus III in Nayagarh Autonomous College. In spite of several problems faced by the family and their repeated pleas for help, the administration has been neglecting their cause. Locals demanded that the administration should arrange for Kanhu’s immediate treatment.
PNN