How did doctors release woman to strangers?

The role of the Thane Mental Hospital has come under the scanner of the Mumbai police after cops began probing into the alleged grabbing of a multicrore property at Chuim Village Khar following a series of reports by midday The kin of complainant Marietta Fernandez wondered how she was handed over to a person with a criminal past after her discharge from the mental hospitalThe Khar police on Tuesday recorded the statement of Marietta 54 who has accused Clarence Pereira alias Peter and his family members of usurping her multicrore property by fraud midday had highlighted her plight on the cover on November 15Dr Sanjay Bodade medical superintendent of Thane Mental HospitalCrime PI Sandip Patil of Khar police station said they will register an FIR soon The cops have begun an investigation into the role of the Thane hospital where Fernandez was admitted on November 27 2020 and was taken out by accused Peter on April 29 this yearldquoWe have approached the Bandra court to seek the details of the entire episode involving Fernandez Marietta right from her admission at the mental hospital to till date as it is being alleged that her ancestral property has been grabbedrdquo said an officer at Khar police stationldquoWe are investigating if Marietta is the victim of a conspiracy that was hatched to get her discharged from the hospital If it was chicanery who all conspiredrdquo said the officerMarietta shows the injury mark on her chin due to an alleged assault by accused PeterDespite being told to report to the cops Peter was yet to show up said the officer Peterrsquos daughter Rachael alias Preeti said the Thane hospitalrsquos medical superintendent Dr Sanjay Bodade is a good friend of her fathermidday has learnt that Peter met Bodade on the hospital premises on many occasions when Marietta was admitted there ldquoYes Peter had visited here on two three occasions but I never knew him before He told me that he is Mariettarsquos unclerdquo said Dr BodadeRelatives raise questionsmiddayrsquos lsquoThe old and the vulnerablersquo series that kicked off with Mariettarsquos story prompted her relatives to contact this newspaper from abroad including her brotherMariettarsquos multicrore cottage at Chuim Village KharldquoI have learnt that he Peter is an accused in many serious offences including rape gang rape murder and fraud How can the Thane Mental Hospital allow a woman patient to go out with a stranger with a criminal background Was it not the responsibility of the hospital to conduct a background checkrdquo a wondered close relative of MariettaOn Wednesday midday met Dr Bodade ldquoWe have followed what is described in the New Mental Healthcare Act The patient is an adult When he Peter came here he told us that he is her uncle Even Marietta was willing to go with him at the time of discharge We cannot object to itrdquo he saidHowever when Dr Gauri Rathod deputy director health Thane Circle had a different take on Mariettarsquos discharge ldquoHis Peterrsquos background records must have been checked as the patient is a woman who underwent treatment at Thane Mental Hospitalrdquo she saidlsquoLoophole in lawrsquoldquoWe are morally responsible while discharging a patient who is an adult so that she goes into the safest hand If there is no relative of the patient then we send them to the beggarsrsquo home or shelter home More than 1000 patients are admitted to Thane Mental hospital We have three medical social workers in the hospitals who have been given responsibility to check where the patient will go after they get discharged from the hospitalrdquo said Dr RathodldquoIt is their social workersrsquo duty to check if the patient is going to the safest place The source of income of the patient and many more things they have to check If the patient is an adult and heshe is ready to go with anyone then we donrsquot have any rights to stop them There is a big loophole in the Mental Healthcare Actrdquo He said this ldquoloopholerdquo is being exploited by fraudsters ldquoI would discuss it at the ministry level to change it so that at the time of discharge only blood relatives can take the adult patient along with themrdquoHow Peter entered the sceneOne of Mariettarsquos relatives said the Chuim property is their ancestral asset ldquoA few years ago Marietta wanted the property to be transferred in the names of hers her mother Yvonne sister Malachy and brother Andrew But the procedure was lengthy I assume that at the time of trying to get the property transferred Peter came into frame on the pretext of helping themrdquo said the relativeThe relative further added ldquoPeter claims that he has purchased the property from Yvonne in 2013 for R450 crore I have records to prove that the electricity as well as water bills were paid till this year online from my bank account If he Peter purchased the bungalow why would I pay the billsrdquo the relative said The relative also raised questions over the conduct of the Khar police ldquoWhy did the cops hand over the keys of the 4247sq metre bungalow to him PeterrdquoBrother from Dubai speaksldquoCouple of years ago I received a call from an unknown number and the caller identified herself as Nancy who told me to shift my ailing mother to an old age home as according to her my sister was not taking proper care of our mother When I asked her why she was showing interest in my family matter she told me that she was a wellwisherrdquo said Andrew brother of Marietta from DubaildquoWhen I told her not to intervene in my family matter she Nancy told me that she would make my life hell if I failed to shift my mother to an old age home I blocked her number and stopped responding to all unknown Indian numbersrdquo Andrew saidldquoIt is our ancestral property at Chuim village and Peter or Clarence Pereira cannot buy it sans the signatures of all the legal custodians including me and my sisters This seems that we have been defrauded by Clarence who has been using his local influence to make forged documents to stake claims in our ancestral property where I will live after I am done with my job at foreign landrdquo he addedHe too questioned the discharge by the Thane hospital ldquoOn what ground Marietta was discharged What documents of Clarence were checkedrdquoHe added ldquoLast year one inspector Kolthe called me from Khar police station when the body of my mother was recovered from my bungalowHe wanted me to visit Mumbai but I could not reach there as the pandemic was at its peak and also I was scared to go to Mumbai from where the unknown person Nancy had threatened me I could not contact my sister when she was admitted to the Thane hospital as I did not have any contact number I extend my full support to my sister in this fight she is not alonerdquo29Day in April that Marietta was discharged from Thane Mental HospitallsquoLaw allows a mentally fit person to leave with anyonersquomidday How was Marietta discharged from the hospital and who approached the hospital for her dischargeDr Bodade Clarence Pereira approached us and he claimed that he is corelative and he is her uncle and he came here when she was getting dischargedmidday Was any verification of Clarence done by the hospitalDr Bodade Khar police verified Clarencersquos credentials After police verification we discharged Marietta from the hospitalmidday But Clarence is not his relative or uncle Cops say he is accused in rape gang rape and cheating cases How did you allow him to take Marietta without verifying his detailsDr Bodade Itrsquos the policersquos role to check his background Our role is to discharge her and check her mental health Marietta is an adult and she can take her decision as per the new Mental Healthcare Act Marietta decided Clarence as nominee and we discharged her India adopted this new law from England and many Indian doctors and psychiatrists are frustrated and facing difficultiesmidday The daughter of Clarence told us that her father is your good friend Is it trueDr Bodade We both are natives of Goa so we talk in our regional Konkani language This doesnrsquot mean that we are friends He is not my friend and I have not supported him in his nefarious plan if anyWhen asked that he had earlier said the Khar police had done the verification of Peterrsquos credentials which was denied by them Bodade again changed his response ldquoThe police sent us a letter that no relatives are in India of Marietta and suddenly Clarence visited the hospital for her custody and we allowed him We didnrsquot take any letter from Clarence to release Marietta from the hospital as we have our doctors and they counselled Marietta and they found she is mentally fit and fine and we released herrdquoWhen asked about the claims of Mariettarsquos relatives that she was handed over to a man with a criminal past Bodade said ldquoMarietta relatives never came to hospital and never they called us while she was in hospital and taking treatment How suddenly I will give them answers Clarence visited the hospital thrice earlier to meet Marietta We released Marietta after she told us that she wanted to go with ClarencerdquoPast taint on Thane hospitalThis is not the first time the Thane Mental Hospitalrsquos role has been questioned In 2005 a report had exposed corrupt practices at the asylum A sting operation had shown that then medical superintendent Dr AR Nakalgaonkar would take R5000 to certify a normal person mentally unfit The report had prompted a highlevel inquiry by the government leading to Nakalgaonkarrsquos suspension Also the 200 patients admitted by Dr Nakalgaonkar were put through scrutiny