Palghar Murder A Lesson, Mental Health Education Is A Prime Compulsion Schools Require To Adopt

By D N Singh  wp:paragraph {"dropCap":true} That may have been a news among many in the country but, the dirty tracks that the killer of Shraddha Walkar of Palghar left are there for all of us to take a lesson from. Mainly for the youngsters who are getting groomed in an atmosphere of this kind. A psychological impact that grows within the children from school age. There, many experts feel, there is an urgent need for mental education which is just essential.  Let's not take the macabre killing of Shraddha as one of the many such instances which has agitated millions of hearts. So, it will be wrong to call the accused Aftaab Poonawala a culprit and forget the gradual ingress of such cruel actions in India. The Palghar woman's shocking plight is an indication of the lack of mental education that is so pressing a need for our youngsters right from the schools. Rather, some feel that mental health care should have a place in school syllabus to hone the children's better side into a die-cast to deter any such brutal eventuality in life. Against the backdrop of the brutal killing of a Palghar woman Shraddha Walkar by her live-in partner in Delhi and chopping her body into multiple pieces, a prominent Mumbai psychiatrist has urged the government to start mental health courses and awareness among children right from the school level. Psychiatrist Dr Sajid Khan initiates saying that “ there can be a chapter in the Science subjects on mental illnesses, their types, how it can be dealt with, etc. It will remove the stigma associated with mental illness in India. Here, such patients are simply ridiculed as  plagal (lunatics), which is absolutely wrong,". In fact, such people grow within such erratic thoughts from the early days of life. Referring to the Delhi murder, Khan said while one or both could have had some mental issues which needs to be assessed professionally, he cautioned against giving any label to the action of the accused Aftab A. Poonawala to avoid giving him any benefits. What is very worrisome is that, after committing such a brutal act, the accused has no shred of remorse or guilt. In custody also, he is normal, sleeps normally, eats and his interaction with the probing officials are fearless and often derisive in nature. These are traits those the present-day youth import into their psyche easily and go to extremes in many instances.   Even such people embed such delusive qualities and defy anything told to them by elders in the family. It points to mental health issues that may need a full-fledged diagnosis as many such patients seem very charming, with a kind of charismatic attraction' that can fool others. So despite their macabre acts -  cold-blooded' so to say - they seem unaffected as their emotions work differently from the normal people. "In modern times, youngsters are becoming financially independent, very much aware, take their own decisions on various issues, or there may also be some addiction angle that often triggers such heinous crimes," Khan added. Prior to the Shraddha killing in Delhi, Maharashtra has been rocked by several such instances in recent years, in some cases even jilted young women have been the culprits. In February 2020, a spurned lover allegedly poured petrol and burnt a 24-year-old junior college lecturer Ankita Pisudde on the road in full public view, in Wardha. She died after a week and the accused Vikesh Nagrale was arrested. In Aftab's case, mental health experts are not willing to risk calling him a psycho-killer' or anything that could favour him during the trial and are awaiting the full police investigation and a proper medical examination on him, before authoritatively commenting on it. So, mental health education is obviously a need of the hour and the children have to be schooled about it from there only. About the Author: DN Singh is a Bhubaneswar-based senior journalist. DISCLAIMER This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with that of the www.prameyanews.com.