Fourteen mentally ill patients, some of them chained to trees, have been rescued from a temple in Anthiyur forest area in Erode district, police said on Saturday.
Acting on specific information that some mentally ill patients were chained to trees near Malaikaruppaswamy temple at the Burgur foothills, police rescued 14 people, including six women, and shifted them to government hospital at Erode.
Some of the patients were staying with their relatives, police said, adding they had been kept there in the belief that some divine power would cure them.
While four of those rescued were being examined by senior doctors, some others were found to be normal and sent home with their relatives. Three persons were referred to Chennai for further treatment, police added.
The plight of hundreds of mentally ill patients, lodged in several faith-healing centres in the state, came to light after the August 6 fire at Yerwadi which killed 28 inmates of a private asylum.
Subsequently, the homes were ordered to be closed by the government and the patients were either sent home or admitted to a hospital in Chennai.

Bureau Report