Nagpur: Naresh Tolani, 51, a
plastic trader who committed suicide, became the first reported victim of the state government’s plastic ban. He ended life by jumping into Gandhi Sagar Lake. His body was found floating in the lake in the early hours of Monday.
Tolani, a resident of Kashmiri Lane, had left home on his two-wheeler in the wee hours of the day. His family members had approached Pachpaoli police station to report him missing at 5am, after they could not trace him in the vicinity or with his friends. In the meantime, a morning walker alerted control room after spotting a man taking a plunge into the lake. The man later turned out to be Tolani.
Ganeshpeth police later fished out the body. Police said Tolani had not left behind a suicide note. The family members, however, said that Tolani had been depressed since the plastic ban had compelled him to suspend his trading activities. He had been robbed of his livelihood, they said.
The suicide evoked strong reactions from trading associations, who expressed solidarity with the plastic ban victim and his family. Sources from Tolani’s neighbourhood also confirmed that the trader had suffered a set back after the ban, which he had repeatedly expressed in his friend circle.
Ganeshpeth police have registered a case of accidental death.
