Most suicides by C’garh security forces this year

DEPRESSION OWING TO TOUGH WORK CONDITIONS, DIFFICULTY IN GETTING LEAVE ARE AMONG THE COMMON CAUSES OF SUICIDE, SAID A SOURCE

RAIPUR: As many as 36 security personnel posted in Maoist-hit zones of Chhattisgarh committed suicide in 2017, the highest in a year in more than a decade in the state, according to official data accessed by HT.

The suicides by state police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel this year is nearly thrice the earlier highest single-year toll of 13 in 2009.

The data compiled by Chhattisgarh police shows the toll this year makes up more than 31% of the 115 suicides recorded since 2007 across 11 districts affected by left-wing extremism.

Police are yet to formally collate data on suicides among forces in Maoist belts since the state’s formation in 2000 up to 2007.

The spike in suicides this year has rattled senior police and security personnel, triggering talk of going for psychological autopsies (research to study the cause of suicides) to guide a possible resetting of preventive measures.

A source aware of reasons for the suicides noted in the records said, “Depression owing to tough work conditions, difficulty in getting leaves — in one case for a brother’s wedding — and homesickness are among the common causes.”