Lost tribal from Odisha reunited with family

Good Samaritans facilitate reunion within a short span

December 18, 2012 03:31 pm | Updated 03:31 pm IST - TIRUCHI

Mangol soren,second left, a tribal with suspected mental illness, was reunited with his family at Anbalayam here on Monday. R. Shyamala, District differently abled welfare officer entrusted him to the care of his brother-in-law,centre Photo: R.M.Rajarathinam

Mangol soren,second left, a tribal with suspected mental illness, was reunited with his family at Anbalayam here on Monday. R. Shyamala, District differently abled welfare officer entrusted him to the care of his brother-in-law,centre Photo: R.M.Rajarathinam

Mangal Soren, a 40-year old tribal from Odisha, had no idea how he landed up in Chatram Bus stand in the city last week. Thanks to the efforts of many Good Samaritans, the coolie labourer and father of two children was reunited with his family within a short span in Tiruchi on Monday.

The man who was wandering in the bus stand for two days was taken to the Fort Police Station. Suspecting the man to be mentally unsound, the station referred him to Anbalayam, an organisation that cares for wandering mentally ill found in the streets of Tiruchi, Perambalur, and Pudukottai.

Though he furnished an address, Mangal Soren could not provide any telephone numbers to T.K.S. Senthilkumar, Anbalayam founder. P. Thyagarajan, an employee with the Ordnance Factory, Tiruchi, volunteered to network with various high-ranking officials in his organisation and traced the block development officer in a village near Badipura in Mayurbanj district , Orissa.

By December 12 his family received information about his whereabouts, said his brother-in-law who came to Tiruchi on Monday. Mangol Soren was rescued on December 9.

His family claimed that he arrived in Tamil Nadu along with friends who promised him better prospects in a food processing factory in Pudukottai. R. Shyamala, differently abled welfare officer, asked the family to allow Mangol Soren, a class VI dropout, to continue work in his home State.

A psychiatrist from ATHMA Hospital who diagnosed the patient told The Hindu that the man was diagnosed with psychosis or disconnect with his surroundings. Confirming the that he did not suffer from any long standing illness, doctors were positive the syndrome was temporary and recovery was possible with medication and family support.

Better networking among organisations working for the mentally ill in various states and sensitisation of Railway Protection Force can ensure mentally ill patients do not wander far away from home, said Mr. Senthilkumar. Such patients were subject to various problems including harassment and sexual assault.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.