Mumbai: Mentally ill man who killed his mother set to go home

A schizophrenic man, who murdered his mother and was acquitted six years ago, will finally go home this week after his family decided to take him back.

Sunil Gawli (36) has been in and out of Thane Central Jail and the Thane Mental Hospital ever since a court in Palghar district acquitted him, as his family refused to accept him.

“Gawli’s father Devya is more than 90 years old and has recently indicated that he wants his son to come back home,” said Dr Sanjay Bodade, Medical Superintendent, Thane Mental Hospital.

Just this month, the hospital has made two attempts to take Gawli back to his home in Sakharpada-Modgaon village in Dahanu taluka but heavy rains forced them to head back. “On both occasions, locals told us that the village is flooded with several feet of water and that it would not be possible for us to travel,” said Dr Bodade. With the rains now having subsided, hospital authorities are preparing to make another attempt this week.

In 2006, Gawli bludgeoned his mother to death in their home. At that time, he was in the fourth year of being treated by a doctor in Surat for a mental condition, which had caused him to quit his job at a factory in Dahanu. Doctors at the hospital noted that Gawli’s family discontinued his treatment owing to financial constraints.

A case of murder was registered at Kasa police station and Gawli was soon sent to Thane Central Jail to await trial. With Gawli no longer under medication, jail authorities were unable to cope with his aggressive behaviour and in 2008, he was sent to the mental hospital.

Doctors there noted that Gawli also talked incoherently to himself, had disturbed sleep and was abusive at times. In his first stint, Gawli spent three months at the hospital before being returned to jail when the symptoms diminished following treatment. Dr Bodade said that Gawli was sent to back to the hospital in 2013 after suffering a relapse. “After we treated him, he was fit to stand trial and was acquitted of the murder the same year,” he said.

Over the next few months, the hospital worked with the police in Dahanu to trace Gawli’s address and made arrangements to send him back. But even as Gawli displayed an eagerness to return home, his family refused to take him in. “We had gone to his village but his family turned us back,” said Dr Bodade. Left with nowhere to go, Gawli became an inmate at the hospital.

The authorities made a fresh attempt after a committee headed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thane, reviewed his case. Swati Kulkarni, hospital’s Social Service Superintendent, said that the committee designated Gawli as a civilian patient. “The change in designation from a criminal inmate means that we have to return him to his home,” she said.

Dr Bodade said that there has been a marked improvement in Gawli’s condition over the years. “At present he is stable, co-operative, adjusts well with others in the ward and takes care of himself. He feels guilt for what he has done,” he said.