Week after suicide bid, jobless youth breathes his last; protests rock Telangana

WARANGAL: Twenty-eight-year-old unemployed graduate, Boda Sunil Naik, who was depressed over the State government not issuing job notifications and attempted suicide by consuming pesticide a week ago in Warangal, breathed his last at Hyderabad’s NIMS Hospital in the early hours of Friday. Naik’s death sparked protests by students and triggered adverse reactions by leaders of Opposition parties against the TRS government.Naik, a resident of Gudur mandal in Mahabubabad district, had shot a video of himself after consuming pesticide on March 26 near the Kakatiya University campus. 

In the video, he rued that Telangana is not issuing notifications for government jobs to fill up existing vacancies and also the dearth of employment opportunities in the State. He also said that he had been waiting for more than five years for the job notifications.   Meanwhile, his body was taken to his native village of Tejavath Ramsingh Thanda in Gudur mandal by Friday evening.However, with the villagers, students and a few political leaders refusing to perform his last rites, his body was kept in the ambulance, parked on the outskirts of village, till late in the night. 

Mahabubabad Superintendent of Police N Koti Reddy visited the spot and tried to convince the leaders and students to withdraw their protest and let the family perform the last rites of Naik.Speaking to media, Sunil’s brother Srinivas said that the State government’s announcement on extension of retirement age of government employees from 58 years to 61 years left his brother distraught and forced him to take the extreme step of ending his own life. 

“My brother completed his graduation in 2016 and was trying hard to get a government job. He had applied for other jobs too. I am working for a private company. We are awaiting the notification for 50,000 government jobs promised by the Telangana government. The State government must immediately issue the job notifications,” he said. 

According to the police, Naik had been preparing for competitive exams for the past six years in an attempt to get a government job. He had rented a room at Hanamkonda and was staying there. He had also appeared for a police constable written exam but had failed in the physical test.