Patna: Jewellery shop owner commits suicide over financial strain arising out of lockdown

PATNA: A jewellery shop owner allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself inside his private residence at Bajaj Gali in Bakarganj under Pirbahore police station area in state capital on Thursday.
The deceased person was identified as a Ramanand Prasad, aged around 57 years. He owned a jewellery shop named Kala-abhushan jewellery shop at Bhikhna Pahadi.
According to the statement of the deceased’s son Ashutosh Kumar (29), recorded before police at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Prasad was found hanging inside his bedroom when he went to serve him tea on Thursday morning.
Kumar told police that they rushed him to PMCH where doctors at emergency ward declared him dead.
PMCH temporary police outpost in-charge Amit Kumar, quoting son’s statement recorded before police, said that Prasad had become depressed due to financial crisis as his shop remained closed for almost three months due to lockdown.
"Kumar’s father used to remain depressed and frustrated due it. Since last one and half weeks, the jeweller had isolated himself from rest of the family members. He had even stopped interacting with rest of the family and probably due to all these reasons he committed suicide," TOP in-charge said quoting statement of the deceased’s son.
The officer said that the son, in his statement to police, also said that that he had found Prasad hanging from a hook in wall using a towel when he reached to serve him tea on Thursday morning.
"The family members had only rushed him to PMCH," he said adding body was handed over to family members for cremation after conducting post-mortem.
Since April this year at least five suicides had took place in Patna district allegedly due to financial crisis arising out of lockdown. This includes, Rupaspur resident private firm manager Dhananjay Kumar who lost job due to lockdown, two auto-rickshaw drivers Rajesh Pandey from Khajekala and Pradeep Kumar from Gopalpur and a 55 year old restaurant employee living at CID colony in Jakkanpur.