KOLKATA: The two NRS Medical College nursing students accused of bludgeoning 16 puppies were likely to be suffering from a ‘severe personality disorder’ and needed immediate counselling, felt psychiatrists. Since such extreme behaviour indicated a high degree of disorder and was difficult to cure through treatment, the students should be kept under life-long monitoring, they advised.It was shocking that these youngsters were training to be nurses — a profession that requires compassion and kindness, said psychiatrist J Ram. “It was a case of planned, ruthless murder and their behaviour bordered on sadism. This shows that they have complete disregard for the well-being of animals around them. It raises questions about their feelings for fellow humans as well. They have no moral values either. It is ironical and indeed sad that they were going to become nurses,” said Ram.The condition that these nurses have is also known as ‘anti-social personality disorder’, added the psychiatrist. “Usually, these people have a long history of cruel behaviour. Often, there are enough indications but they are ignored. Such behaviour indicators start showing up in adolescence and remain dormant unless a situation arises that exposes the condition,” added Ram.Nurses’ organizations condemned the act and agreed that the accused needed treatment. “This is not normal behaviour and these youngsters should be put through counselling. But it must also be noted that these students were driven to despair by these stray dogs that had become a menace on campus. The students had lodged several complaints with the authorities but no step was taken,” said Parbati Pal of Nurses Unity.This violent behaviour was also a result of the endorsement of aggression and intolerance by the society at large, said psychiatrist Siladitya Ray.“While a section of the society has turned extremely conscious of animal rights and the need to protect endangered species, there is perhaps a growing section that remains intolerant towards animals. There is now a tendency to glorify aggression in entertainment and sports. The ruthlessness with which the puppies were killed is frightening. These offenders suffer from a serious personality disorder and should be put through counselling before being allowed to resume normal activities,” Ray said.“It is distressing but true that people who display such heartless behaviour towards animals would also be cruel towards humans. If these offenders were indeed nursing students, the authorities should consider if they are fit to join the profession,” he added.Sociologist Prashanta Roy said this macabre action showed that there was a deep-seated angst and pent-up frustration ready to overflow at the slightest trigger. “There are negative emotions in every human being and most of the time we try to control them with civil behaviour. It’s a kind of sophistication that we deliberately put on because we do not want to show our basic instincts to people. But there is a deep-seated angst building up inside each of us because of the turbulent times we are in,” said Roy.