The news that a US national had been admitted in an unconscious state to the Thiruvanthapuram Medical College in the wee hours of Sundayby members of the Amritanandamayi Math in Vallikkavu of Kollam district, had created a big flutter in the state.
Further, the hospital authorities had claimed that the admitted patient had been assaulted, leading to suspicion that the Math was somehow involved in the violence meted out to him.
However, the Math has now come forward with a statement that 37-year-old Mario Caputa has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that whatever had happened to him had taken place outside the Math.
A statement given by the Math to TNM says that Mario had reached the ashram on September 6 and that this was the first time he had visited the Math.
“The Office suddenly heard that he had gone wild in a village shop outside the ashram and had been breaking things. The villagers apparently grabbed him, but he was so violent that they had to tie him. This happened completely outside the ashram in the village,” the statement says.
The statement further says that the district collector and the police were involved in the issue and that it was they who'd suggested that Mario be taken to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College for psychiatric care.
The statement from the Math includes a mail allegedly from Mario’s father, Edward Caputo, who is in the US at present. In the mail, Edward claims that Mario was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2007.
“The father also said that in 2007 Mario was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder and has been taking two medicines – Abilify and Haloperidol. The father said Mario has had regular bipolar episodes over the past 10 years, which occur whenever he stops taking his medicine,” the statement reads.
Earlier, there were allegations that Mario was addicted to drugs and that it was his addiction which made him become violent. Edward has denied the allegations.
“Mario is a very gentle person, he came to the Ashram to seek a deeper relationship with God and to find deeper spiritual direction from Amma. To my knowledge he has never used any kind of illegal drugs,” the mail says.
Edward has also mentioned that though Mario was suffering from bipolar disorder, he showed symptoms only when he failed to take the medicines.
“I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused your staff and I am especially sorry for Mario whose only desire was to go deeper into his spiritual journey that has been interrupted by this incident,” the mail says.
On Monday, the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College had released a press note claiming that Mario had not yet overcome his injuries. Hospital authorities have also informed TNM that Mario was assaulted brutally and that his injuries are evidence of the same.
However, Karunagapally police said that he might have been assaulted by locals when he became violent.
“That person is mentally ill, he was becoming violent. He might have been assaulted by locals, we don’t know about that. It was the authorities of the Math and the police who took him to the hospital,” Karunagapally SHO Sivakumar told TNM.