Seven suicides by hanging reported in a day in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Seven suspected suicides—all by hanging—were reported across the city on Wednesday, the youngest victim being a 10-year-old boy. Police said no suicide note was found in any of the cases. “While we still believe the death of the 10-year-old could have been an accident, we are yet to ascertain the actual reason. We also need to consult psychiatrists,” said a Lalbazar officer.
The first death, that of a 57-year-old resident of Baisnabghata Township, was discovered around 5.30 on Wednesday morning. A hosiery hawker at Gariahat, Naresh Saha was reportedly under a huge debt. Pointing out his financial troubles were not new, police said they were investigating if the lockdown had played any role.
For the police, the most “mysterious death” was that if 10-year-old Sunny Mondal at a building on Dhakuria Station Road. The Lake police said the boy’s mother worked in that building and he mostly stayed at her employer’s residence since he was six years old. Around 2 pm, Sunny reportedly claimed he was going to the terrace to pick up drying clothes. When he did not come down for a long time, residents and cops started a search to find him hanging from an iron hook, projected from a window near a balcony. “We need to ascertain whether it was accidental or a deliberate act,” said an officer, adding no one had lodged any complaint so far.
Among the victims were two 19-year-olds, one found dead at Patuli and the other at Muchipara. Rohit Gupta (19), a resident of Moore Avenue, was found hanging using a gamchha around 6.30am. His parents, who live in Bombay, told police the boy was alone in Kolkata and the loneliness during the lockdown might have had impacted him. Toton Das of Muchipara is the other 19-year-old to have reportedly ended his life on Wednesday afternoon.
Around 8am, two deaths were reported, that of Mohan Bandhopadhay (40), a resident of Hazra Road, and 70-year-old Nokul Mondal, who lived on the ground floor of a two-storey building on Canal Road in Behala. Around 9.30am, a 30-year-old resident of Kalitala Bose Lane in Beliaghata, Indranil Karmakar, was found hanging on the top floor of a four-storey building with a nylon rope.