Ghastly murder by students is an isolated case, says psychiatrist

The ghastly murder of a woman and her 18-month-old grandson by five teenagers in suburban Borivili has shocked this metropolis, but a psychiatrist says this is an isolated and bizarre case and reveals no trend of any kind.

"It is an isolated incident of five young men not only killing a woman but even hanging a small baby to death and could indicate an anti-social personality disorder or an impulsive act," said Dr Bharat Shah, a psychiatrist at the Somaiya Medical Trust and Lilavati Hospital.

"I do agree that adolescents experience a lot of stress that could even lead to suicide but what happened in Borivili has no connection," he said.

On Wednesday, Leticia Mendes, 54, who used to conduct cookery classes in her one-bedroom apartment in I.C. Colony in Borivili, was stabbed to death by the teenagers who had approached her on the pretext of learning cooking.

Her daughter Glenda Lobo, 24, was also stabbed and left for dead but she managed to alert a neighbour living on a floor below. She is now recovering in the Bhagwati Hospital. But her killers hanged her son from the ceiling fan when he started crying and the assailants got scared.

Police arrested the five accused within 24 hours and all of them have confessed to the murders. The five teenagers are college students from well-to-do families and have been identified as Ashish Dominic, 20, Clinton Fernandes, 16, Wilfred Dias, 19, Karan Khanna, 17, and Clint Fernandes, 19. Police have also recovered stolen jewellery worth Rs50,000, some fake ornaments and a mobile phone. Police say they may be drug addicts and robbery could have been the motive for the killings.

However, Dr Shah said: "Hardcore drug addicts usually resort to petty crimes that has been going on for long. Since they are nutritionally low, they are not motivated into big crimes."

A clinical psychologist remarks that the whole incident is strange and "it is mysterious to find young men from middle class carrying out such a violent act."

While college authorities are thinking of introducing more counseling for students, Dr Shah says: "Counselling helps on an individual level when students suffer from depression, or phobia of the exams. But counseling cannot help much when a person is suffering from a serious personality disorder."