FURTHER ENQUIRIES REGARDING THE ALLEGED HEMP DRUG CASES OF 1892. 61
CASE NO. 7.
Copy of a letter No. 208 Crl., dated Nawadah, the 21st May 1894, from the Sub-
Divisional
Officer, Nawadah, to the Magistrate of Gya.
WITH reference to your Memo. No. 1051, dated the 4th May 1894, directing an en-
quiry to be made in regard to the cause of insanity of one Hari Das, lunatic, I have the
honour to submit the following result of my enquiry about the matter.
1. Sardari Koiri, aged 35 years.
2. Somer Koiri, aged 40 years.
3. Gango Sonar, aged 45 years.
2. I had sent for the relatives of the alleged lunatic at first, but it was reported that
there were none alive among them in the village, so I had to send for a few of his
next-door neighbours who appeared before me to-day and
gave the following accounts of his habits. Their names
are noted in the margin. They appear to be intelligent
and reliable.
3. They say that the lunatic Hari Das was formerly called Dhamri Dhanook and was
by caste a Dhanook. His parents had died long before he became insane. He first
became insane about 15 years ago and was sent to the lunatic asylum by name of Damri.
He returned from the asylum on his recovery after two years' confinement, and lived at
his native village for about 7 years in sound health and mind. During these seven years he
passed for a sadhu and designated himself as Hari Das. It is also alleged that when
residing at his village during this period of seven years, he once committed theft and was
imprisoned for two years. On his return from the jail he returned to his house and
again passed for a sadhu and lived on begging. It is about six years that they
saw that he went with his younger son, Sheo Charn, to Sahibganj, Kajrote, in
Bhagalpur, where the latter was married and that they heard nothing of him since then.
4. They state further that before Hari Das went mad, he used to smoke ganja only
once a day, but on his return from the lunatic asylum he began to smoke twice a day,
and that he never used bhang. They further state that the alleged lunatic Hari Das was
not insane in reality, but that he pretended to be so in order to cover his misdoings.
According to them, the use of hemp drugs was not the real cause of his insanity as he used
them very moderately, neither was he subjected to any sad affliction, which might have
been the cause of his insanity.
5. As stated above, his father died some 25 years ago; his mother died two years
later, and his wife died some ten years ago; his first son, named Shankar Dhanook, was
punished for theft, and it is not known where he is at present. It appears that Hari Das
has been confined in the Lunatic Asylum for a second time and was sent there by the
Magistrate of Bhagalpur.
6. The form annexed with your letter under reply is returned herewith.
Case No. 11.
The record in the Sessions case, Empress vs. Purna Chandra Rishi, has been perused.
Seven witnesses speak to the madness of the prisoner since Asar; but not one mentions
ganja or bhang. The prisoner's mother (whom he had wounded) said: "Purna's two sons
had died before the occurrence. He also lost his son-in-law. Since Asar Purna had
become like a mad man." His cousin (son of the woman he killed) said: "I cannot say
why he became mad. He had two sons, one of whom died. He never had any son-in-law."
No other witness was asked about the cause of insanity, and the Judge does not refer
to it.
The Civil Surgeon of Jessore said: "I had the prisoner under observation for some
time, and observed his mental condition during the time, and I came to the conclusion that
he was a weak-minded and somewhat demented individual. He seemed perfectly harm-
less. But on hearing that he had committed such great crimes, I am of opinion that he is
not harmless, and that he has probably temporary fits of mania." He said nothing about
the cause of insanity.
16