Depressed jobless Telangana youth attempts suicide, succumbs

Hyderabad: An unemployed youth, who attempted suicide last week over not getting a job in the Telangana government, succumbed at a hospital here on Friday.

Sunil Naik, 26, a resident of Mahabubabad district, had consumed pesticide on March 26 in Hanamkonda and was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad.

His amily members said he was depressed over the government not issuing a job notification.

Naik, a graduate, had been preparing for a job in the Police Department. In 2016, he achieved eligibility for the police job but could not clear the physical fitness test.

He had taken a room on rent in Hanamkonda and used to visit Kakatiya University library daily to prepare for competitive exams.

Naik was upset after the state government last week enhanced the retirement age for government employees from 58 to 61 years. According to his family members, he was depressed that the government may never issue a job notification.

Before consuming pesticides, he made a selfie video, saying that his death would at least give jobs to the unemployed.

He was shifted to the MGM Hospital in Warangal and was later brought to Nizami’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Hyderabad where he succumbed on Friday.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed at the Gandhi Hospital where the body was shifted for autopsy.

Leaders and workers of opposition parties and the youth’s relatives staged protests, demanding justice.

Meanwhile, state BJP President Bandi Sanjay blamed Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for the youth’s death. He said since Naik took the name of the Chief Minister in his last statement, Rao should be arrested.

Youth Congress staged protest, blaming the TRS government for Naik’s suicide. It called upon unemployed to participate in his last rites.

Police made tight security arrangements to shift the body from Hyderabad to Naik’s native village in Mahabubabad district.