Hyderabad: The Lake police at Hussainsagar claims to have prevented 336 suicides in 2018. It that those who tried to take their own lives by jumping into the Hussainsagar were sometimes motivated by something as trivial as losing a bike in a small argument at home.
Nuclear families, self-centric attitude and lack of physical activity in schools were reported as leading to suicides among children, said a higher official from Rachakonda Police.
“Children require some attention by their parents and families on a regular basis. Speaking to them would prevent mental pressure. More physical activity in schools will help in overcoming stress,” he said.
Speaking about one case, inspector B. Dhana Laxmi of the Lake police said that on February 19, a 48-year-old man from Khairatabad wanted to commit suicide by jumping into the lake because his two-wheeler was missing from his house.
“I counselled him and his family was contacted, following which he was handed over to his mother,” she said.
“People come from far-off locations to commit suicide at the Hussainsagar as it is easy to just climb up and jump. We have identified two to three hotspots around the lake where we noticed most of the cases and keep a tighter vigil on those places,” she said.
From committing suicide while on live video calls, to leaving video messages as suicide notes, to group suicide pacts, jumping off towering multi-storey structures and even inhaling nitrogen, the way people have embraced death here has gone from shocking to bizarre.
“The reasons have been mostly the same, although the decision to end one’s own life is being taken quicker than ever. It also indicates the lack of will to fight the urge. From love affairs to extramarital affairs to refusal by parents to give money to buy mobile phones to financial stress, and the most disturbing of all, academic pressure, have been behind most of the suicides reported this year, at the rate of at least one a day, with days when multiple suicides were reported aplenty,” said an official from the Hyderabad police.
Earlier this month, a 21-year-old engineering student from IIT Hyderabad at Kandi in Sangareddy, reportedly committed suicide by jumping from the fourth floor of the college building during the early hours.
The student had sent an email to his friend informing him that he was feeling depressed and was taking his own life. A man who came to know of his wife’s illicit affair not only ended his life, but also left a suicide note asking his parents not to scold her, and to get her married to her lover.
Shameerpet sub-inspector K. Ravi said the incident left the man’s parents shocked. Suicide signs in adults are often missed despite being recognisable, and are even more likely to be missed in children, if parents are not observant.
