Father's insult leads youth to death

TNN / Oct 29, 2007, 00:56 IST

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A 20-year-old first year college student hanged himself at his Thakurpukur residence as he could not bear his father's harassment in the hands of moneylenders.

KOLKATA: "No one is responsible for my death. I am committing suicide as I cannot tolerate the way moneylenders behaved with my father" — this was the last line penned by Rajib Nath, a 20-year-old first year college student, who hanged himself at his Thakurpukur residence on Saturday evening, a day before his 21st birthday.
He could not bear his father's harassment in the hands of moneylenders.His father had taken a loan of Rs 30 lakh.
A student of Sarsuna College, Rajib was depressed over the last week because of the way moneylenders abused his father during their frequent visits to his home. His father Pachu Kumar Nath, who deals in building materials, had taken a loan from several local moneylenders and from a private bank over the last one and half years. As a result, he had to pay around Rs 75,000 every month as interest. He had also run up a long list of unpaid bills at the local grocery shops.
Three moneylenders paid Pachu a visit on Thursday evening and allegedly misbehaved with him for not paying the due interest on time. "Rajib was depressed for quite some time and Thursday's incident was the last straw," said a relative.

On Saturday evening Rajib's mother found his bedroom locked from inside after she returned from their shop. When Rajib did not respond to her repeated calls, she immediately called her neighbours. "I found my son hanging from the ceiling after we broke in. I was in a complete state of shock," she said in despair.
Rajib's neighbours confirmed that he was a good student and a mature boy. He used to give tuitions to help his father make ends meet. "Today is his 21st birthday. When we had asked for a treat, he promised to give a

big one after his family got over the present crisis and he bagged a good job. We cannot believe that he is
no more," said Atish Naskar, a close friend of Rajib.
Things came to a head on Saturday evening when Tudu finally turned down Chaitali's marriage proposal, saying he was married.
A shocked Chaitali returned home in silence.
And on Sunday, when her father was out and her mother busy, Chaitali poured kerosene and set herself ablaze around 10.30 am. Hearing her screams, Chaitali's mother rushed in. She was first admitted to Uttarpara State General Hospital and later shifted to SSKM Hospital with severe burn injuries. Chaitali succumbed to her injuries later in the day.
Tudu, however, claimed that he had repeatedly refused to marry Chaitali as he was married. "The girl used to put pressure on me. Like every other time, I turned down her proposal on Saturday," he said.
Police were looking into all possible angles. "We are investigating the case," said a senior district police officer.

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