Ambulance driver’s suicide in Belagavi linked to unpaid salary

Belagavi: Ambulance driver of a private hospital died by suicide in the Shahapur area in Belagavi on Sunday. Omkar Powar, 25, is the deceased. According to a death note he left, a delay in payment of his salary was the reason behind him taking this extreme step.The deceased, Omkar Pawar, was living in a rented house in Shahapur and ended his life by hanging himself at his house. Police said that he has written a death note against the hospital administration. A hospital employee has been taken into custody and is being interrogated in this regard, they added.Omkar, who got married four years ago, has a son. A post-mortem was conducted at BIMS Hospital.The family members of the deceased and functionaries of the Ambulance Drivers' Association expressed outrage that the hospital administration did not visit the spot despite knowing about the suicide. Omkar's family members alleged that the hospital staff was responsible for the death.Krishna Pawar, a relative of the deceased, said that the death note states that Omkar was not paid his salary for the last four to five months. "In addition, it said that he was in debt. It is possible that non-payment of salary is the reason for his unstable mental state, and the police should investigate and take action against the guilty," he said.A case has been registered at Shahapur police station, and an investigation is under way.