Patients with mental disorders are chained for ‘treatment’ here!
MENTALLY ILL people are tied up in chains at Hazrat Munawwar Ali Shah Baba’s Dargah as it is claimed to be the right place to get rid of “evil spirits”
Looked upon with disdain in the society, people suffering from mental disorders are treated in an inhuman way at Hazrat Munawwar Ali Shah Baba’s Dargah in Himmatganj locality of Sangam city.
Left by their families at the ‘dargah’ for treatment, these terminally ill people are tied up in chains cutting through their skin.
Family-members of such patients take them to ‘dargah’ as it is claimed to be the right place to get rid of “evil spirits”.
If one visits the ‘dargah’ on Thursdays – a day considered to be holy as the Baba is said to be in his chair (‘mukam’) – one finds these patients in immense suffering.
Abdul, 34, (name changed) is believed to be possessed by evil spirits. He behaves abnormally and attacks anyone he gets irritated with.
A local elder declared that he was possessed by some evil spirit which could only be dealt with effectively at Hazrat Munawwar Ali Shah Baba’s Dargah.
His mother said medical treatment by best doctors could not cure him after which he was brought to the ‘dargah’.
Tied from one of the walls in chains and having faced innumerable ‘hazris’ (attendance) in the court of the Baba, he has calmed down and now survives in a “semi-normal” state.
Similarly, Razia (name changed), a middle-aged woman, started acting strangely in her home some time back.
Despite all the medication, she could not regain normalcy.
She was ultimately dumped by her parents at the ‘dargah’ and subsequently chained from one of the iron grill railing on the outer side of the shrine.
“I come here to take her to toilet and feed her. She stays on the ‘dargah’ premises near the Baba’s ‘mazar’ all the time with one of her legs chained to the iron railing. She is now fine and stays calm,” said the ailing women’s relative.
Tying such schizophrenics in chains is common at the ‘dargah’ with occasional shrieks by such mentallychallenged patients only to be calmed down by their attendant.
On every Thursday, the ‘dargah’ located in the heart of the city is visited by residents from different parts of the country. The crowd begins to swell from early morning to late at night.