THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Unusual suicides by 45 tribal youths in the last five years in the settlements at Njaraneeli near Palode, 35 km from the State capital, which had gone unnoticed, figured in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who intervened following a protest by Opposition legislators, told the House that it was a serious issue, and that stern steps would be taken after due inquiry.
Raising the issue in the House during Question Hour, Congress (I) legislator A.P. Anil Kumar said a 19-year-old girl, a degree student, was the last to commit suicide a week ago. “All were in their late twenties, and 43 of them were found hanging,” he added.
Mr. Anil Kumar, who was Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes in the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government, said the issue had not come to the notice of the SC/ST Department and the government. Though the incident had taken place in the capital, it was not reported in the media, he added.
Terming it a serious matter, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes A.K. Balan said he would write to the Chief Minister, seeking an inquiry by the Home Department into suicides between 2012 and 2017. “It is surprising that even the alert media also missed them,” the Minister observed.
Meanwhile, State SC/ST Commission Chairman P.N. Vijayakumar visited the colony which falls under the Peringamala panchayat.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, MLAs Anil Kumar and K.S. Sabarinathan, and DCC president Neyattinkara Sanal visited the colony later in the day. Mr. Chennithala demanded a joint study of the incidents by the SC/ST Department and the Health Department along with the inquiry.