The year was 2005. My life was cruising at a smooth pace when suddenly an unfortunate incident happened which simply shattered me.
One fine day , a female patient came to my OPD with some non-specific complaints. I referred her to the in – house psychologist. On careful history taking, it was found out that she was separated from her husband for some time. Moreover she was involved with two men at the same time, one a policeman and the other an ex-army serviceman. All this led to her being emotionally disheavled. She underwent few psychological counseling sessions at Khetarpal Hospital. On one such occasion both her armours came face to face at the hospital and had a huge fight amongst themselves. I intervened and politely asked them to leave the hospital premises as such incidents are not befitting a healthcare setup.
That very night, the ex-army servicemen committed suicide and in his suicide note implicated three people for abetment to suicide: the female patient, the policeman and me. It came as a rude shock when police came to my hospital and in front of all my staff and patients handcuffed me as a petty criminal and took me to jail.
I spent 72 days in jail for no fault of mine. Each and every day was akin to a nightmare. Each day was more harrowing than the day before. I felt so belittled and so vulnerable. Time and again I cried over my ill fate. I couldn’t fathom the cause for such severe punishment from God. I started praying with all my heart.
Meanwhile, Renu ran from pillar to post to get bail granted to me. She left no stone unturned. It is only due to her relentless efforts that I was granted bail on the 3th of october ‘ 2005, 1 day after my birthday.
When I came out of jail , I felt reborn. I had an entirely different outlook to life. I no longer took things for granted. I came to realise the true colours of a lot of people whom I considered my good friends. There were people who spoke behind my back, who did not believe in my innocence. I have since then managed to keep such people at a distance.
My case is still pending in court. I pray to God that justice be bestowed soon so that I can be a free man once again.