Aftab could have had drug-induced psychosis and paranoia: Dr Pranav Kabra

MUMBAI: One of the things the murder victim in the Delhi fridge murder case had mentioned about 1.8 years ago, which I overlooked in my last media interaction – Shraddha Walkar said her partner Aftab never allowed her to go out alone, Dr Pranav Kabra of the Raksha Multispeciality Hospital in suburban Malad clarified late on Saturday evening.

Which means Aftab was keeping Shraddha under lock and key, because if she went away or left him, she would reveal all his secrets – drug addiction, personality disorders, womanizing, etc.

This suggests and I am presuming that he had some form of paranoia, opined Dr Kabra.

According to Dr Kabra, sustained, addictive drug use can cause psychosis. Some of the symptoms normally exhibited by patients with psychosis are hallucination, anhedonia, and disrupted executive functions.

The symptoms of drug-induced psychosis (DIP) are not different from the symptoms of schizophrenia, and it is difficult to distinguish between the two.

“Shraddha when she called me was trying to get me to suggest or prescribe drugs for schizophrenia-like symptoms.

While symptoms of DIP and schizophrenia are similar, the latter is heritable. Drugs such as amphetamine, PCP/ketamine, scopolamine, marijuana and LSD are known to cause DIP,” Dr Kabra said.

Regular use of cannabis or ganja, causes relationship problems, intimate partner violence, antisocial behavior including stealing money or lying, financial problems.

Aftab had taken money from Shraddha, without her knowledge/permission which led to fights between them.

According to media reports, Aftab was consuming cannabis for at least one year, which could have made him violent and exhibiting very erratic behaviour.

Regular use of cannabis can lead to paranoia.

People become paranoid when their ability to reason and assign meaning to things breaks down. They consider everyone their enemy. So Aftab considered Shraddha as his enemy no one because she used to fight with him often about money, women, etc.,

On the other hand, Shraddha Walkar came from a split family, her parents were separated. Her father Vikas Walkar lived separately. Shraddha lived with her mother and brother after her parents separated in 2014. She had totally become emotionally dependent on Aftab, while he was paranoiac about certain elements about their relationship.

According to Dr Kabra, a psychologist and/or a psychiatrist would be able to better understand and evaluate the mental health of an individual like Aftab. These are my presumptions, based on what I heard from Shraddha and what I have read and heard in the news over the last three days.

What is Paranoia?
Paranoia is one of the symptoms of drug addiction that makes it difficult for the patient to trust others. It is accompanied by a constant suspicion that someone might be out to harm you (patient) or that someone close to you is intentionally treating you badly, humiliating your and harassing you.

Paranoia is one of the symptoms experienced when you regularly abuse a substance over a period of time, are addicted to certain substances or are going through withdrawal. That feeling of being in danger or that someone is coming to harm you (even when you are alone) becomes frequent. This causes an inability for you (or the person involved) to trust people or to even feel comfortable in a certain, known, environment.