JOIN USEight months after his arrest over a dramatic burglary in Thiruvananthapuram, Bunty Chor continues to hit headlines. On Tuesday, the “high-tech thief” was shifted to the government mental hospital at Oolampara in Thiruvananthapuram following a court directive. The 41-year-old was lodged at the Poojappura central prison in the capital city before the court directive on Tuesday.
Prison officials said the directive followed Bunty’s submission in the court that he was experiencing mental issues and trauma. “We have moved him to the mental health institution based on the court directive at around 10.30 am today (on Tuesday). It was specifically based on the request he made at the court,” a senior prison official told Deccan Herald. The official said he was not “aware” of Bunty raising similar issues during his stay at the prison. There have been reports that Bunty had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, before his arrest in Januar.
The prison authorities, however, are not taking chances and have stationed a team of policemen at the mental health institution.
The cautionary measure comes against the backdrop of reports that Bunty had been planning an escape from jail. The prison officials, following Bunty’s alleged enquiries with a Hindi-speaking prisoner on possibilities of escaping from the prison, shifted him to another cell.
“He was moved into another cell last week and has been kept under surveillance,” the prison official said.
Devinder Singh alias Bunty Chor was arrested in Pune following his break-in at the house of Venugopalan Nair, an NRI businessman, in Thiruvananthapuram. He had fled the house with a Sports Utility Vehicle and other valuables.
DH News Service