Tamil Nadu: Man, forced into isolation by kin, commits suicide

TRICHY/COIMBATORE: Loneliness can kill. Just a few days into the nationwide shutdown, and some people are going to the extreme. A 29-year-old man forced to live in isolation committed suicide in his farm house at Maramadakki village in Pudukkottai district on Friday. And in Coimbatore, police rescued a man living alone who tweeted that he was having suicidal thoughts.
Police said C Suresh of Maramadakki village had gone into depression after his parents and elder brother refused to let him into the house last week fearing he could be infected with Covid-19.

Suresh had gone to the Maldives in 2019. After working there for a few months, he returned to Pudukkottai on January 15. From there he went to Tirupur in search of a job. He had to return because of the nationwide shutdown.
His family insisted that he remain in isolation and sent him to the farm house.
C Balu, his elder brother said they suspected Suresh may be infected with Covid-19 since he returned from the Maldives and decided to keep him in isolation for a few days.
“Though he didn’t like it, he stayed in the farm house and we didn’t allow children from our house to meet him,” said Balu.
On Friday morning, when a relative went to give him breakfast, Suresh was found hanging from the ceiling of the house.
The Aranthangi police have filed a case and are investigating.
In Coimbatore, a 35-year-old private bank employee from GN Mills tweeted that he was alone at home and was having suicidal thoughts. He tagged his tweet to the Union home ministry.
Coimbatore city police commissioner Sumit Sharan, who noticed the tweet, informed SP Sujit Kumar to send cops to GN Mills. The man told two sub-inspectors from the Thudiyalur station who rushed to the place that his parents were in Kotagiri in the Nilgiris and he unable to travel there. Police promised to take him to his parents’ house.
To distract him, they asked him to join them in checking vehicles at GN Mills junction.
Later, officials instructed police to allow him to go to Kotagiri in his own vehicle.
“His parents left for Kotagiri a week ago. So, he was alone in the house at GN Mills and he felt mentally sick. He has now reached his home town safely and is all right now,” said sub-inspector Dhamodaran.