2
9. Escapes.—Two of the inmates escaped from the Lahore Asylum and
were not recaptured. There were three escapes of non-criminal lunatics from
the Delhi Asylum, due to the carelessness of warders, one of whom was
dismissed and the others fined. Two of the lunatics were recaptured. The
following is the Superintendent's report regarding the 2 escapes from
Lahore:—
Two men escaped together on the 23rd December from a room in the criminal
ward. They made a hole in the roof, and, traversing the flat roofs of the barracks,
reached the outer wall and got away. Their absence was not detected till morning.
" One of these men escaped before on 23rd May 1892, and remained away for 6
months ; he then returned of his own accord ; during his absence he had been at Hardwár
and other places. There cannot be much doubt that he remembered his former adventure
and is now repeating it with a companion. It was impossible to fix the responsibility
for this escape on any of the warders.
" The room from which it was made is a small one, and, when the door is closed,
quite dark inside. The warders walking about outside could not be expected to see
what was going on in the interior.
" The guard was changed at 12 o'clock, and it is not known whether the men got
away before or after that hour.
" It is quite possible that there was no noise made, for the mud roof was easily
pierced, and the floor was covered with straw, which would deaden the sound of falling
debris. None of the other lunatics in the ward were roused, at least they deny that
they heard anything.
" Escape from the asylum is very easy owing to the structure of the buildings and
the weakness of the guard.
" Were it not for the fact that there are criminal lunatics confined, this would not
be very serious, but, owing to it, it is so, for the facility of escaping from the asylum
is an inducement to prisoners in jail to feign insanity in order to be sent to the asylum.
In this way jail discipline is apt to suffer and the deterrent effect of imprisonment on the
criminal classes to be weakened.
" There is a scheme sanctioned for the improvement of the asylum, and it is hoped
that when it is carried out escapes will be fewer than they have been in the past."
10. Religion of those admitted.—In the Lahore Asylum 29 were Hindús, 50
were Muhammadans, 3 were Christians, and 4 were of other religions. In Delhi
42 were Hindús, 12 Muhammadans, 1 a Christian, and 4 were of other religions.
11. Occupation of those admitted.—In Lahore 19 were cultivators, 24
beggars, 8 labourers, 4 shop-keepers, 5 sepoys, 18 of various other occupations,
and 8 unknown. In Delhi 17 were cultivators, 6 labourers, 29 of various other
callings, and 7 unknown.
12. Ages.—The ages of those admitted were in Lahore 5 under 20 years,
63 between 20 and 40 years, and 18 between 40 and 60 years ; and in Delhi
7 were under 20 years, 42 between 20 and 40 years, and 10 between 40 and
60 years.
13. The types and causes of insanity in the admissions at Lahore were
mania 44, melancholia 19, epileptic insanity 1, toxic insanity 17, consecutive
insanity 2, puerperal insanity 1, idiocy 2. In 15 cases insanity was ascribed
to the use of the various preparations of Indian hemp, in 2 to spirit-drinking.
14. In Delhi 23 were admitted for mania, 9 for dementia, 2 idiocy,
3 epileptic insanity, 15 toxic insanity, 3 from consecutive insanity, and 4 were
not diagnosed. Fifteen of these admissions were due to the use of the various
preparations of Indian hemp.
15. In entering the alleged causes of insanity, Superintendents of
Asylums and Magistrates are largely dependent on the statements of ignorant
friends or relatives or often of Police Officers who are total strangers to the
habits of the lunatic. Such alleged causes must, therefore, be quite unreliable
in many instances. Thus a large number of cases are said to be of toxic
origin, but it is fairly open to doubt whether paupers would be in a position
to habitually provide themselves with narcotics in sufficient quantity to induce
insanity. These figures are to be looked on with much distrust.