ASTC Employee Commits Suicide Inside Office Premises in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: In an unfortunate incident, a man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in the premises of the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) office in Guwahati.

According to reports, the deceased has been identified as Dhrubojyoti Thakuria and was working for the ASTC on a contractual basis for the past two years.

He was a resident of Tihu in the Nalbari district.

As per the staff, Thakuria hanged himself in a generator room of the ASTC office.

Meanwhile, Paltan Bazar police station has received the body and sent it for autopsy, however, the reason for his suicide is not ascertained yet.

According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, in an alarming development altogether 690 people have committed suicide in Assam from 2016 to 2019 due to unemployment

The number of suicide cases for a similar cause (unemployment) is 16 in Meghalaya, 7 in Nagaland, 4 in Manipur, and 2 in Mizoram in the same period (2016-2019). The figures in these NCRB records pertain to data before Covid-19 hit the country and led to further job losses in the last two years.

"The year 2020 was the worst year when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in the country and the complete lockdown was imposed for several months. Many youths from Assam and the other NE States engaged in jobs in different parts of the country had returned to their homes after losing their jobs. So, the number of suicide cases due to unemployment and loss of jobs must have been doubled by now," a source said.

According to the NCRB report, family problems are responsible for 25.94% of suicides in Assam in 2019 followed by a love affair (15.69%), property dispute (11.77%), marriage related issues (10.21%), unemployment (6.54%), illness (6.6%), failure in examination (4.3 percent) and drug abuse or addiction (3.8%).

Also Read: Over 700 commit suicide in Northeast due to unemployment: NCRB

Also Watch: