BENGALURU: In 2019, a total of 875 suicide cases were reported in the state, and a majority of the victims were businessmen and women. The state-wise suicide rates according to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report titled ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2019’ are - Maharashtra at 14.2 per cent , Tamil Nadu at 11.7 per cent , Karnataka  at 9.7 per cent , West Bengal at 8.2 per cent and Madhya Pradesh at 7.8 per cent .

Dr Naveen Jayaram, psychiatrist, Sakra World Hospital, said loss of productivity is a major cause for suicide. “There are various reasons for suicide among those running businesses - loans, investment returns, disagreements with business partners, work pressure, and, of course, personal issues,” he said.According to Dr Gururaj G, Department of Epidemiology, NIMHANS, sudden financial loss is one of the major reasons behind suicides. However, he adds that the categories under suicide in the report are unclear. While the figures above fall under the category ‘suicide committed under business activities’, Gururaj explains that there is a need for an in-depth analysis to understand the cause for suicide.

According to the report, Karnataka has a 17.1 per cent suicide rate compared to the national average of 10.4 per cent. A total of 11,288 suicides were reported in the state, putting it in the fifth spot when it comes to the number of such deaths.According to the NCRB, the number of suicides in the country from 2004–2014 shot up exponentially. Experts say the working class and teenagers are the most vulnerable groups.

The report highlighted how familial issues and illness contributed to 32.4 per cent and 17.1 per cent of total suicides in the country, respectively, in 2019. Drug abuse/addiction (5.6 per cent), marriage-related Issues (5.5 per cent), love affairs (4.5 per cent), bankruptcy or indebtedness (4.2 per cent), failure in exams and unemployment (2 per cent each), professional/career problems (1.2 per cent) and property disputes (1.1 per cent) were other reasons for suicides, the report found.