Two Suicide Cases That Shook Nation

The suicide of a techie Vijayashanti Reddy, along with her two teenaged children, near Hyderabad and the triple suicide in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, early on Wednesday morning have shook the nation. While a Korean gaming app is being blamed for the suicide of three sisters — Pakhi, 12, Prachi, 14, and Vishika, 16, all minors, police are yet to find the reason behind the death of the techie and her minor children. The suicides have disturbed the conscience of many in the society, as they involved minors.

Pinninti Vijayashanti Reddy, 38, her children Chetana Reddy, 18, and Vishal Reddy, 17, reportedly stood on the railway tracks even as a goods train was approaching them in the night on January 30.

On Friday, Vijaya left her house in Uppal at 6 pm in a car and picked up both her children from their hostels. Then she drove to the Ghatkesar railway station and all the three walked down the platform calmly and went on to the tracks towards Charlapalli. The trio stood firm on the tracks even when the driver of a goods train approaching them sounded horn, after spotting them.

Eventually, all of them were struck and died on the spot. Police recovered a handwritten suicide note from the car. Vijaya apologized to her relatives and mentioned that she does not want to live any more. In the note, she also expressed fear in leaving her children alone without her. Though the incident occurred on January 30, it came to light on Wednesday.  

Police found that Vijaya last spoke to her brother and he said that she did not sound disturbed. However, the CCTV footage from the railway station led to more doubts over Vijaya’s death. Neither she nor her children were found to be anxious at any point of time. More surprising, neither of her children tried to persuade her not to dare to end life. The visuals also led to a doubt if Chetana and Vishal knew they were heading towards the tracks to end their life.

In addition to the police, even commoners are not able to understand how two grown-up children daringly went along with the mother to end their life, without any hesitation or complaint.

In the Ghaziabad triple suicide, the three minors ended their life jumping from the window of their apartment in the ninth floor of an apartment complex. The death of minors by suicide is heart-wrenching in both cases. In the techie’s case, one of the parents led the children to death but in the Ghaziabad suicide, the parents are cursing themselves for not being able to stop their children from getting addicted to the online games, which they said had drove them to take the extreme step.

Vijaya’s husband Surender Reddy, who works in Dubai, said that they do not have any financial or family problems. “I was shocked to hear the news and my mind got blocked,” he said, after returning to Hyderabad on hearing to the devastating news.

Police are still clueless about the motive behind the suicide. Police seized Vijaya’s laptop and mobile phone, and are investigating the case in all angles. Incidentally, Vijaya and her children took the extreme step on Surender Reddy’s birthday. Surender and his mother are not able to come to terms with the family’s suicide.

Chetan Kumar, the father of the three sisters, and his wife are not able to digest the sudden death of their three children. Police recovered a handwritten note that read, “Sorry, Papa, I am really sorry,” along with a crying-face emoji. The police said the exact circumstances leading to the incident are still being investigated.

Suicide is not the solution to any problem. It would be better for people in distress or depression, reach out to their family members and close friends. They should understand that any situation is temporary and have the patience to wait for better times, suggest psychologists.