Mafia don accused of faking his illness

LUCKNOW: Dreaded mafia don and notorious international kidnapper Babloo Srivastava is currently under psychiatric treatment at a hospital here but a police officer says this is only a ruse to ease the rigours of imprisonment.

“Barely a few months ago he had come to attend the wedding of his sister in Lucknow and looked absolutely fit and fine. I wonder if the illness is real or made-up,” said the officer of the special task force that has been keeping a close watch on Srivastava.

According to the records of the King George’s Medical University psychiatry department, Srivastava is suffering from agoraphobia, a condition doctors say is triggered by loneliness.

The police officer refused to buy this.

“We are aware that he has a stream of visitors. He has been caught several times using mobile phones inside the jail. So, where is the question of loneliness?” the officer asked.

According to him, the hospital doctors had either been bribed or intimidated to certify the illness.