Man kills self away from wife and son

A STAFF REPORTER

Buried under a failing business and growing debts — and not having the heart to take the final plunge at home — a 48-year-old trader from Jorabagan hanged himself from the ceiling fan of a hotel room in the Muchipara police station area on Wednesday.

In a long letter to his wife, Sukiran Das explained that he took this drastic step away from his “sweet home” as he did not want to cause trauma to her and their 10-year-old son.

The sight of his lifeless form hanging from the ceiling at home would have “marred the many memories” they had built together, felt Das.

So, he left his home in Baburam Ghosh Lane for the last time on Tuesday evening, moved into a room in a guest house on Baithakkhana Road, near Surendranath College for Women, and hanged himself from the ceiling fan.

According to Nemai Kumar Paul, additional officer-in-charge of Muchipara police station, Das had checked into the guest house the same evening. “He told staff members at the hotel that he was from Burdwan and had come to the city on a business trip. He even put down a Burdwan address in the register,” Paul said.

Das locked himself in the first-floor room (no. 101). “When he did not emerge throughout Wednesday, the staff got suspicious. Finally, manager Pulak Chakraborty knocked on the door at around 9 pm,” Paul added.

When no one answered, the manager went to the other side of the room and peeped in through the window.

“I was shocked to see him hanging from the ceiling fan in the room. I did not know what to do and called up the owner of the hotel, who is on a business trip to Rajasthan. He asked me to inform the police and I did so immediately,” Chakraborty said.

A two-page suicide note was found on Das in the form of a letter addressed to his wife. “He wrote that it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to run his business and he found himself in a debt trap,” said an officer of the local police station.

“With you and my little son, I could not carry out my plans at home. That is why I had to come here to end my life. I hope you will forgive me,” concluded Das.

In another incident, unemployment drove 45-year-old Arun Chakraborty to hang himself on Thursday afternoon at his Rajabagan Lane shanty. Arun was the father of two children.