406 died from suicide since June 2020 in Agra: Police
India Today
Police records revealed that 406 people died from suicide in Agra since June 2020. The figures give a glimpse of the post-Covid depression faced by the people in the city.
The Agra Police records revealed that a total of 406 suicides, including several mass suicides, were reported in Agra in the past two years. The string of suicides began in June 2020 following the first relaxation of lockdown guidelines and continued till the first week of July 2022.
Over the past two years, several cases of mass suicides have been reported in Agra with many taking the final step due to the financial crisis following the Covid lockdown. The first mass suicide after the lockdown was reported in December 3, 2021, when a man along with his wife and five-year-old daughter died by suicide in his office. The latest report of a mass suicide occurred in July after a man died by suicide along with his wife and nine-year-old daughter. The family was facing a financial crisis.
In 2020, there were a total of 174 suicides in Agra, while in 2021-22, a total of 232 suicides, including 143 men, and 89 women have been recorded so far.
Senior Psychiatrist Dr KC Gurnani said that in most of the cases, the deaths were driven by depression caused by financial crises or other social causes. He said that there is another occurrence which is generally termed ‘extended suicide’ where a person first kills his near and dear ones and then dies by suicide himself. In mass suicides, family members usually commit suicide with mutual consent.
Senior physician Dr SK Kalra said that often a person who has suicidal instincts does not follow them through after connecting with their near and dear ones.
Other experts said that the financial situation of a lot of families were affected by the lockdown, especially if the only earning family member died from Covid. While some families were given financial assistance, there are a significantly larger number of families whose loss was not recorded by the local administration.
