Chennai: Special net installed at CoP building to prevent suicides

Chennai: In a desperate move to prevent the suicides of police personnel inside its premises, the Greater Chennai Police Commissionerate has been equipped with ‘special’ net to catch the personnel, if they decide to jump off the CoP building.

According to the police sources, the net has been fitted on the first floor of the nine-storey building to discourage the police personnel who try to end their lives on the campus. “Although the Chennai police have been conducting yoga classes to mitigate the stress among the police personnel, the top officials are in the fear of suicides and suicide attempts in the premises,” the sources added.

The net has been tied to four walls the courtyard connecting them to the first floor. “The courtyard was originally designed to house a fountain,” the sources said. The police sources also expressed that the net might not hold the weight of a man falling from the ninth floor, but it can minimise the impact and save the person from death.

The move had been taken after the recent suicides and suicide attempts by police personnel in their workplace. It may be recalled that SI Sathish Kumar had shot himself at Ayanavaram police station on March 7, only a few days after an Armed Reserve wing police Arunraj shot himself at Jayalalitha memorial where he was posted on March 4.

High tension prevailed before DGP office on March 22 after two police personnel Raghu and Ganesh, reportedly belong to the firearms unit in Theni district, forcing the police think tanks to come out with yoga classes.