State of mind

Salahuddin, the young man who died in police custody in Rahim Yar Khan on Sunday, should never have suffered all that he went through in life. His story is an unusual one. Salahuddin’s video showing him stealing money from an ATM in Faisalabad and then sticking his tongue out at the camera went viral. About a month later the young man was arrested in Rahim Yar Khan after a police official recognized him from the video footage. We do not know how he was treated while in custody, and at what point he was taken to hospital where he died.

What we do know is that Salahuddin in all likelihood should have received care for what has been called a mental health condition from many years ago. Had the symptoms of this been diagnosed when he was younger it may have been possible to treat him before he committed a crime of any kind. We have no idea of his background or what other actions he may have engaged in. It is also imperative that police learn how to treat mentally ill criminals. We do not know if they are any standard operating procedures for treating mentally unwell people who are brought to police custody. We do know however that police brutality is extremely common and, in many cases, the only method known to under-trained cops to try and extract a confession from the victim. All those in the police need to understand that mental ill health is not itself a crime. It needs treatment by an expert practitioner.

The full story of Salahuddin is still to unfold. But figures show that the rate of mental illness is very high in our country. Many of these people would be able to lead more productive life with treatment and therapy. It is time for us to pay greater attention to mental health and develop models to detect those who may need medical assistance in this area when possible in their childhood. At any rate, if there is any element of brutality in Salahuddin’s death the matter needs to be addressed under relevant laws and the police sensitized to the situation of those who are mentally unwell and may commit an action that replicates a crime because of this.