REPORT OF AN INDEPENDENT INQUIRY ... - Hundred Families

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Chapter 5 – Relevant Events in 2001
1. By 2001, Chandran was living in a housing association flat on his own. Sulekha Jaykumar lived
in a different flat with Narayanan Sukumaran, her daughter and her husband when he came to
England from India. She was largely responsible for caring for her father who was, by then,
elderly and physically frail but Chandran appears to have visited their flat regularly.
2. On 28th February 2001, Chandran went to work at W.H. Smith at Blackfriars Railway Station at
about 5pm. Narayanan Sukumaran had been in hospital and Chandran wanted to have some time
off to look after his father. He says his request was refused and he was angry and frustrated at
having to go to work. Whilst at work, Chandran attacked a work colleague kicking him in the
face with sufficient force that the colleague had to have root canal treatment to two of his teeth.
Chandran claims that he felt under considerable stress because of his father’s condition and that
he was provoked by his colleague at work and the attack then ensued.
3. An independent witness to the attack described Chandran and his colleague arguing whilst he
was in the shop. Whilst this witness was paying for his purchase, he saw Chandran hit his
colleague around the head several times. There was then a short period of time when Chandran
walked away and carried on serving the witness who said that he then saw Chandran kick his
colleague in the face whilst the latter was bending over to get something out of a lower cupboard.
Chandran lost his job as a result of this incident.
4. In the view of the Inquiry Panel, the nature of the attack, namely hitting somebody around the
head several times and then kicking him in the head with sufficient force that the victim needed
to undergo root canal treatment, was serious.
5. On 20th March 2001, Chandran pleaded guilty at Horseferry Road Magistrates’ Court to an
offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The Court wished to have a pre-sentence
report and psychiatric report before sentencing him and the case was therefore adjourned for
those reports to be prepared.
6. On 10th April 2001, a Probation Officer, Gill Lewis, wrote to Dr Röhricht telling him that
Chandran had pleaded guilty to the offence of common assault, that this had involved his kicking
a fellow employee in the head who had had to have root canal treatment to two teeth, that he had
previous mental health problems and had been an inpatient at Goodmayes Hospital but was
unable to remember the dates of the admission. She added that she had met Chandran and was
“of the opinion that he does not present as a danger to you or any of your staff”.
7. There is a manuscript note on the letter to Dr Röhricht which reads:
“Frank. This patient was last seen by Dr Feldman in June 1992. He DNA’d (did not attend)
in 7/97, 9/97 and was discharged in 4/98 for poor attendance.”
As we have explained, we believe Chandran was seen in July 1997 in the outpatients clinic and
as well by the CMHT in August 1997.