Royal pregnancy hoax call suicide: Nurse Jacintha attempted to kill herself twice

Jacintha Saldanha, the Indian nurse who committed suicide earlier this month had attempted to kill herself twice last year, Indian media reports have claimed According to a report published in Deccan Herald, Saldanha, who hanged herself on December 7, following a radio prank call, is said to have had suicidal tendencies and even attempted suicide twice within a span of ten days.

The report, quoting sources, said Saldanha was suffering from “depressive disorder” caused by a history of stress.

The first suicide attempt was on December 30, 2011 followed by another attempt on January 8, both while she was on holiday in Mangalore, India.

Jacintha, working as a nurse in the King Edward VII hospital received a call from two prankster Australian radio jockey she, in absence of a receptionist, passed on the call to the desired destination.

Mrs Saldhana put the call through to Duchess Kate’s ward, where an unnamed colleague gave details of the duchess’s treatment for severe morning sickness.

A recording of the conversation was broadcast on the 2Day FM station with the DJs gleefully boasting about their successful hoax Few days later Saldhana was found dead in in the nurse's accommodation under mysterious circumstances.

On the first occasion she is said to have rushed to a private hospital, while on the second occasion she was rushed to the city-based Father Muller Medical College Hospital with head injuries.

Quoting sources the report said, “The patient was taken over by psychiatry on January 10 in view of suicidal risk. Subsequently, she was under psychiatric treatment at the hospital for four days. At the time of her discharge on January 13, her condition had considerably improved. She was in a “happy” mood, and her psychometric activity was “normal.”

However, doctors at the hospital had even warned her family attendants about the risk and advised round the clock supervision.

Jacintha was buried last Monday near Mangalore in Shirva, the home town of her husband Benedict Barboza.

People have been especially critical of the radio jockeys who made the prank call.

Friends and relatives who knew Saldanha during her student days had earlier described her as a very strong person, hardworking and bold. They had called upon authorities to probe the suicide theory.

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