Santosh Mane, the 40 year old State Transport driver, who went on rampage in the city on Wednesday killing eight and injuring more than 30 people, has been sent to the Yerwada mental hospital for observation till February 1. A local Pune court directed the police to refer Mane to mental health experts at the hospital on Saturday evening.
Speaking to The Hindu , investigating officer Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajendrasinh Mohite stated that a team of doctors in the government run Sasson Hospital had referred Mane to the mental hospital. “The investigation will continue after the experts in Yerwada mental hospital file their report,” Mr. Mohite said. The police will now probe if Mane was “mentally unstable”, he said.
He added that Mane had not spoken about the incident at all, and had been quiet through out the interrogation. “He talks about where he lives, and works. But he said nothing about the accident. He does not even talk about whether he was undergoing pressure at work,” Mr. Mohite said. Meanwhile team of police officers has been sent to Mane's hometown Solapur to interrogate his family.
Mane’s brother Janak Mane had told reporters after the incident that he (Santosh Mane) was suffering from mental illness for which he had taken treatment from a doctor in his Kavthali in Uttar Solapur taluka of Solapur.
The court has ordered that Mane be produced in court on February 1 after the observation. He was remanded to police custody till February 3 on January 26. Mane had hijacked a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus, and mowed down people and vehicles on Wednesday morning.
