Kolkata: The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) seems to have taken its first toll in the heart of Kolkata. Gripped by the fear of losing citizenship, a young man Debashis Sengupta (31) allegedly ended his life by suicide at the Netaji Nagar police station area in the southern fringe of the city, sources said.
He apparently went to his uncle's house on Tuesday, March 19, in Subhas Gram in South 24 Parganas. His hanging body was recovered there on Wednesday, an official said.
In this regard, Kolkata Police Joint Commissioner (Headquarters) Miraz Khan said that the body was found from Subhas Gram under Baruipur District Police adding that the youth apparently died by suicide. As the resident belongs to Netaji Nagar police station area, a complaint has also been filed at the local police station.
On the other hand, the family members of the deceased said that Debashis was worried about the implementation of CAA for the last few days. It is also learnt that he was afraid of losing his citizenship as he did not have his father's migration papers.
The family members said that he was in a state of panic fearing that he might be expelled from the country. It is said that Debashis did not have some documents though he had a valid Aadhar card.
It is learnt that the body will be brought to Kolkata from the Subhas Gram where a post-mortem will be done. The exact cause of death will be known only after the preliminary post-mortem report.
Recently, the Centre issued a notification regarding the implementation of CAA, which gives citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from certain countries. Since then, the opposition has been vocal opposing this. Trinamool leaders were also seen making strong statements about the addition of NRC to CAA.
Soon after the death of a young man in Netaji Nagar, the political slugfest started. Although no clear reason has been shown by the police regarding the cause of death, the family of the deceased youth claims that the young man committed suicide due to fear losing citizenship.
Not only the family, the local Trinamool Congress councilor Arup Chakraborty also said that the young man had been suffering from depression for a long time “due to the CAA scare given by the central government ahead of the Lok Sabha Polls”. His parents apparently lacked documents. In depression the young man took the extreme step, Chakraborty said.
Suicide is not a solution: If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.
