Job crisis drives Kingfisher employee’s wife to suicide

Unable to come to terms with financial hardship and afraid that her husband might even lose his job, the 45-year-old wife of a technician with the beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines allegedly committed suicide at her Manglapuri residence here in the Capital on Thursday.

Sushmita, wife of Manas Chakravorty, lived in their first floor DDA flat in Pocket 13 of Manglapuri. Her husband returned from work around 1 p.m. to check on her as she had not been responding to his phone calls. Along with a neighbour he broke open the door which was latched from inside and found her hanging from the ceiling with a chunni. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.

The police, who received a call around 1-30 p.m. stating that a woman had allegedly committed suicide in a flat, found a suicide note purportedly written by her in Bengali.

Referring to the financial crisis the family was passing through, Sushmita purportedly wrote that her husband had not been getting his full salary for the past few months. She also expressed fear that he might lose his job.

The note said she had committed mistakes on several occasions but her husband pardoned her each time. “I love my husband and son and feel sorry that I have to leave them now,” she wrote, adding that no one was responsible for her death.

Enquiries by the police revealed that Manas Chakravorty had retired from the Air Force recently and joined the airline as a technician. The couple have an 18-year-old son, who took admission to an engineering college at Silchar in Assam this year. It is learnt that Mr. Chakravorty had also accompanied his son to Silchar last month.

Later on Thursday evening, angry neighbours had a scuffle with some media persons accusing them of sensationalising the matter. A neighbour said on condition of anonymity that Sushmita was also under depression after her son shifted to Silchar for further studies.

“The family owns the flat where it lives. I never saw them fight over any issue. Everything in that family seemed normal. I came to know about the incident when I returned from work in the evening. When some media persons entered the colony for coverage, some neighbours raised objections and directed the security guards not to allow entry to any person from the media,” he said.

While the body of the deceased has been kept in a mortuary for post-mortem on Friday, the police are recording statements of her husband and neighbours.

“We are getting the suicide note in Bengali translated. Prima facieit appears to be a case of suicide. However, the post-mortem report will establish the exact cause of death,” said a police officer.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/job-crisis-drives-kingfisher-employees-wife-to-suicide/article3967012.ece