Was killer Pune driver drunk or mentally unstable?

The gruesome act of Pune bus driver Santosh Mane, who went on a rampage, killing 10 people, injuring 27, and damaging more than 40 vehicles, has left psychiatrists baffled. They fail to understand what could have triggered this extreme action.

Psychiatrists say such cases are usually associated with Western countries where incidents of psychopaths on mass murder rampage get reported often.

Dr Nitin Dalaya, psychiatrist and director, Nityanand Institute of Medical Sciences said the driver seemed most probably like a mental patient with psychiatric illness or suffering from some personality disorder.

“The first thing that needs to be ruled out is addiction, if he was under influence of drugs, alcohol or whitener, etc. However if he reported to duty normally and had a routine conversation after which he seemed to have ‘ticked’ off, there could be a serious possibility of this person suffering from personality disorder. In this condition person seems normal otherwise but a time bomb is ticking under the surface,” said Dalaya.

People affected with personality disorders behave in a manner that is against societal norms or expectations and are known to have little control over their impulses.

“He definitely seems to be psychiatrically ill and needs help, unless he was under influence of some drugs. His behavior was impulsive, rash and has symptoms of a psychotic disorder and person seems to have lost touch with reality. It is difficult for a sane person to go on a rampage like this,” said Dr Jyoti Shetty, psychiatrist at Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital.

While the driver has already been classified as a psychiatric patient by most people, doctors say that besides mental illness or addiction, several factors could lead to such incidents.

“Most likely his act points towards a personality disorder that was went undetected for long time. However, certain factors like past history of head injury, epilepsy and neurological problems might also trigger such acts. A detailed psychiatric analysis needs to be made of the person but most important is to calm him down first,” said Dr Suresh Pant, head of psychiatry department at KEM hospital.