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Alarming rise in suicide cases in Northeast |
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With over 30 incidents of suicide in the span of just three months, Guwahati, gateway to the Northeast, has caught the attention of the watchdogs of the society.
The police are indeed helpless but the so-called moral police of the society are ironically not bothered about it.
If the record available with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is any indicator, the frequency of unnatural deaths has always been on the higher side in the State, but Guwahati, which registered around 30 cases of unnatural deaths since mid-July, is perhaps on the brink of surpassing all limits.
More than the numbers what is bizarre to see is that the reasons for people ending their lives are now becoming more and more frivolous.
Moreover, unlike a decade back when only the middle-aged people committed suicide, of late children and women appear to have taken the lead in this fatal pursuit.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Surinder Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police (City) admitted that there is very little the police force can do to halt the spurt in the number of unnatural deaths in the city.
“I have not got the exact numbers of such incidents with me right now. But for me, suicide, more than a law-and-order problem, is a social issue, which certainly is a cause of concern for us. In fact, any loss of life, be it a murder, accident or a suicide, is a worrying factor for us, the SSP stated.
However, he stated that whenever a suicide is committed, the police do carry out an investigation to find out whether the deceased was compelled to take such an extreme step. “I do not know what are the most common reasons for the recent suicide cases in the city but a detailed study by a group of experts into the alarming rise in the number of suicide cases has become the need of the hour. The issue needs an in-depth research, he said.
A senior psychologist of the State, while expressing concern about the issue, said that such cases are the result of unabated exposure of children to violence on television. “At a stage when the minds of the children are unable to explain the various issues logically they tend to take strange steps. Moreover, the home environment also has a bearing on the overall attitude of a person,” he added.
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