Suicide leaves club members shocked

KOLKATA: The alleged suicide of an elderly member on the premises of Hindusthan Club sent shock waves among the members who held an emergency meeting at the club on Wednesday afternoon in memory of one of their “most charismatic” members. They also discussed the measures to beef up security at the 74-year-old club.

“This is the first time such an incident occurred at our club and it has left us shell-shocked.Sawarmal Bhimsaria was a jovial and popular member of the club. He had also been a member of the executive committee a few years ago. He was one of my close friends and his two sons are also members of this club,” said Sitaram Sharma, a member.
Founded in 1945 by migrants from Rajasthan settled in Kolkata, the club became one of the most prestigious associations in the city over the years. In 2004, its expansion was taken up and now it is a 10-storey building equipped with multi-facilities like restaurants, banquets, swimming pool, squash court, health club, sauna, gym and residential rooms.
Bhimsaria, had become a member of the club in 1987. Since then he had been one of the most popular faces at the club, elderly members said.
“He always used to remain happy. But of late, he seemed a bit depressed. He told some of the club members that he had some financial troubles, especially after the family had invested in some resort on GT Road beside by the Hooghly river . I am not sure if that was reason behind his suicide,” said an elderly club member.
“When the incident happened, the club had only four security guards. We have decided to increase the number of guards and post someone at the terrace, even in the early hours when the club opens for the gym and swimming pools,” said Sarad Kedia, the president of the club.
Kedia added that they have also decided to put iron structures around the terrace fencing to increase the height so as to deter any such untoward incident in the future.
“We have decided to increase the height of the boundary walls and also step up the CCTV surveillance,” said Kedia.