It is unfortunate that the cases of suicide, depression and anxiety have gone up recently, especially among the youth. In India, statistics prove that self-harm is on the rise among young adults and the reasons vary, from pressure on them to excel in academics to bullying by peers and seniors.
For Mousumi Mistry, it was a tiff with her boyfriend. The 17-year-old Class 12th student was upset after meeting him and decided to take the drastic step later that evening. She even broadcasted the entire act on social media.
A 17-year-old West Bengal student ends life; live streams suicide on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/D1g00NZgUO
— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) 12 June 2018
The mother of the girl works as house help and was at work when Mousumi returned home after allegedly meeting her boyfriend. The parents have filed a case of foul play and have submitted two phones into custody. They have even lodged a complaint against the youth who she was allegedly seeing as they think he is the reason for their daughter’s demise.
The police’s initial investigation revealed that the girl had gone on Facebook and live streamed her entire suicide.
According to a leading daily’s report, Mousumi’s mother, Sampa said, “Since Saturday afternoon, my daughter had been receiving several phone calls. I also noticed she had become depressed after speaking on the phone and that she left the house. She returned home only in the evening, as I was about to leave home for some work. I did not question her then but merely told her to have some food. When I called my husband from work around 10 PM, he told me Mousumi had again been out to attend a function at a local club and had just returned home and entered her room.”
The additional SP, Baruipur, Saikat Ghosh also said, “We have started an investigation and seized the two mobiles given to us by the victim’s parents. We will go through the mobiles and hope they will give us some clues.”
It is heartbreaking that the youth in the country have reached such a stage that they think there isn’t another option other than suicide. We must have open discussions about mental health, depression and anxiety and give counselling to youngsters who need help.
To tackle these issues and save lives, there are many suicide prevention helplines that we can call in case we need assistance.
If you are feeling depressed or suicidal, dial these numbers and seek help.
Sumaitri, Delhi- 011-23389090
Lifeline Foundation, Kolkata- +913324637401/7432
Hope Helpline, Kota- 0724 433 3666
Samaritans, Mumbai- +91226464 3267
Sahai, Bengaluru- +9180 25497777
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