Mentally ill woman abandoned by mother

A mentally ill young woman, aged around 22 years, was found abandoned two months ago at an ashram near Pabna Mental Hospital in Hemayetpur.

Ever since the woman’s mother secretly left her at Thakur Anukulchandra Satsanga Ashram on June 12, the ashram authorities have been providing shelter to her, who can only identify herself as Nilufar Yasmin Lubna from Chandanaish upazila in Chattogram.

Tapash Kumar Roy, secretary of the ashram, said the institution provides short-term shelter, at no cost, to needy outdoor patients of the mental hospital and their attending family members who cannot afford to stay in paid accommodations for several days.   

The ashram, with a capacity of around 10 occupancies, does not allow accommodation to any patient without registering details of her or his family member.

Due to their limitations in providing long-term accommodation, they would like to hand Nilufar over to her family or get her admitted to the mental hospital, Tapash said.

But the ashram authorities are now in a difficult situation as they do not have the resources to confirm her identity and the hospital will not admit anyone without details of an approving family member.

Finding no solution to the situation, the authorities recently filed a general diary with Pabna Sadar Police Station in this regard, he added. 

Obaidul Haque, officer-in-charge of the police station, said in search of the woman’s identity, they already sent her photos to different police stations.

Asked about the admission policy at Pabna Mental Hospital, its Superintendent Dr Shushanto Kumar Das said the hospital admits patients only after getting approval of their family members and their contact details.