Delhi: Out of job during lockdown, labourer commits suicide

His family said Harikishan, the sole breadwinner, was depressed as he was unable to provide for them due to the lockdown.

“It’s not easy feeding a big family. When the lockdown was announced, we were shattered as he lost his job at a construction site. His employers didn’t even pay him. We thought we would have to beg or go back to our village in Bihar but he said he would work. Within weeks, he bought a cart and started selling vegetables. It was going good before police intervened. They said my husband was violating social distancing norms and restricted him from selling vegetables,” claimed Ahilya Devi, his wife.

A senior police officer in Dwarka however said, “We didn’t stop anyone from selling vegetables but a few RWAs had restricted entry of vegetable vendors. When we found a few vendors violating social distancing norms, we restricted them from selling vegetables. Vendors who continued selling vegetables were then charged for violating lockdown rules.”

With all his savings gone into buying the cart and no job in hand, Harikishan’s family said he was in a tough spot.

His neighbour, Pradhan Vinod, said, “We tried to help their family… On Tuesday morning, I heard someone shouting next door. I ran to Harikishan’s house and found his wife crying that he had hanged himself with a chunni.”

A senior police officer said: “There was no suicide note; the body was sent to the hospital. We are waiting for the post-mortem report.” The family had shifted to Delhi from Bihar’s Chhapra two years ago.