One Indian commits suicide every 3 days

As many as 27 Indians took their lives in the first quarter of this year, adding to the 110 who committed suicide last year, the Indian consulate revealed Monday.

The stats were revealed following a spate of suicide cases in the last 10 days in which two executives and a labourer committed suicide, indicating an alarming pervasion of the tendency across the social strata.

Though, the stats show a steady decrease in the numbers over the past three years, but Indians are still number one by far when it comes to taking their own lives.

Figures show that of the 1,420 Indian deaths registered at the consulate in 2008, 147 were suicides. In 2009, the number of suicides came down to 113, however, the number of deaths registered also dropped to 1,285.

“Any suicide is a worry. We are working to reach out to people to take help from councellors,” said Sanjay Verma, Consul General of India.

He said that the majority of those taking their lives are blue-collar workers, who take the step either because of a financial stress or personal issues.

However, the rising profiles of recent suicides have alarmed the authorities, indicating that the tendency is pervasive and not confined any particular strata of the society.

Among the recent cases that stand out is the suicide of 38-year-old high profile executive Llewelyn Couto, who jumped from the 40th floor of Icon 1 building at Jumeirah Lakes Towers.

Friends of Couto, who remember him as a ‘funny guy’ who laughed and made others do the same, are in a shock of their life as news of the suicide spread.

Couto left behind a six-month pregnant wife and 18-month-old child and worked in a senior position at the fashion chain Splash.

The 38-year-old’s death leap follows two other such cases in which a 30-year-old Indian foreman jumped off the 147th floor of Burj Khalifa, and a labourer was found hanging from the ceiling in Sharjah.

Though, the details of the third case were not revealed, both Couto and the foreman’s suicides seemingly stem from depression and frustration, seen as common causes in most suicide cases.

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