Bhubaneswar: Woman found hanging in flat, husband critical

BHUBANESWAR: The body of a woman was found hanging and her husband was lying unconscious on the floor of their flat in Laxmisagar here on Friday. The deceased was identified as Sanjana Periwal, 39. Her husband Sanjay Periwal, 42, a garment dealer, is battling for life after reportedly consuming poison.
Prima facie, police suspect Sanjana hanged herself to death while Sanjay attempted suicide by taking poison. The couple’s neighbour, who refused to be identified, informed the police after hearing some unusual commotion coming from their flat.
“Before our personnel reached, a relative of the couple had rushed Sanjana and Sanjay to a nearby hospital. Sanjana was declared dead upon arrival by the doctors. Sanjay’s condition is serious,” a senior police officer said. Sources said the couple’s 12-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter had gone to school when their parents allegedly resorted to the drastic step. Police were yet to ascertain the cause of her suicide, though domestic discord is suspected to have sparked the incident.
“We are trying to ascertain the circumstances that led to the incident. Investigation is underway,” deputy commissioner of police Prateek Singh said.
The state has seen a spurt in suicide cases, including by BJB college student Ruchika Mohanty and Ollywood actor Raimohan Parida, in the last few days. While 5,546 people committed suicide in the state in 2020, at least 4,506 (3,311 men and 1,195 women) of them ended their own lives due to family problems, revealed the report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Odisha stood second after Maharashtra for reporting maximum number of student suicides in 2020. While 1,648 students had committed suicide in Maharashtra in 2020, Odisha was placed second with 1,469 suicides (1,042 males and 427 females) by students. At least 379 students had committed suicide in Odisha in 2019, 501 in 2018 and 361 in 2017, the NCRB report said.