In MP’s Khandwa, 27 people committed suicide in one month due to exams stress, financial crisis and job loss

The coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown led to 27 people aged 14 to 40 years to commit suicide in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh in last one month.

All of them were under huge stress due to high school and competitive exams, job loss, financial crisis and business failure, reveal police data.

Khandwa which is located in the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh is 250 km away from the state capital and 63 km away from Indore. The city is in the red zone with 283 COVID-19 cases till June 19.

Police reports claimed that out of 27, 20 people ended their life due to the unemployment, hunger, family dispute erupted due to the financial crisis during ‘Unlock 1’ between June 1 to June 19 and the remaining seven persons ended their life during the lockdown 4.0 period between May 17 to May 31.

Out of 20 who ended their life during Unlock 1.0, six were women aged between 15 to 26, the police said.

According to the police, 12 persons hanged themselves, 10 consumed poison, four drowned and the body of one person was found on the railway track near Khandwa railway station. Most of the deceased were students, workers of local shops and competitive exams aspirants who were disheartened after seeing their future in limbo post-lockdown.

In all the incidents, the Khandwa police have registered cases under section 174 (Police to enquire and report on suicide, etc.) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and launched investigations.

Dr. Sanjay Ingle, psychologist at Khandwa District Hospital informed that the cases of suicides have sharply increased during Lockdown 4.0 and and Unlock 1.0 in the district.

“Every day, we are seeing 3-4 cases of suicide in the hospital since Lockdown 4 was imposed. In the last 30 days, the hospital received 50-60 cases of suicide and around 40 per cent succumbed to the poison,” said Dr. Sanjay Ingle.

The deceased aged between 14 to 23 were students, 24 to 30 were competitive exam aspirants, while the deceased between 30 to 40 or above were either businessmen or workers of the local shops, he claimed, adding that the magnitude of the situation could be gauged from the fact that on June 15, the hospital admitted seven people who tried to commit suicide.

Dr Ingle claimed that five to six people every day visit the psychology department of the hospital for their mental condition. “They are distressed due to job loss. The shopkeepers and small businessmen are sacking their employees due to financial losses. Students are distracted because they are afraid of losing a year, while the competitive exam aspirants are also going through the same mental agony.”

When contacted, Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. DS Chouhan said that this has become a ‘new normal’. He added that cases of suicide are rising not just in Khandwa but across all districts of the state.