40 die, 12 attempts fail in six months
Incidence of suicide in the Rajshahi city as well as in the district has sent a wave of concern among guardians, human rights activists and non-government organisations’ workers of the district.
Nazmun Nahar Merin, a female student of Rajshahi University, from Durgapur in Rajshahi, allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan at her house on July 12.
With Merin’s suicide, the number of such incidents in Rajshahi city and the district in six months reached 40 while 12 attempts failed, according to the statistics of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police and Rajshahi police super office.
Among the suicide victims, 38 were women and children and of them 25 were students of different educational institutions of the city.
But non-government organisation Action for Community Development said a total of 34 people committed suicide in Rajshahi city and nine upazila in the districts in the past six months and among them 22 were women and children.
Psychologists have marked frustration, caused by factors including failure in personal relationship, inability to achieve expected results in examinations, increasing educational costs, joblessness and drug addiction, disruption in family life, to be the main reason leading to suicidal tendency among the people.
Mahbuba Kaniz Keya, Rajshahi University psychology department associate professor, pointed out failed love affair as the major factor behind suicidal tendency among the students.
Kaniz Keya said extensive counselling was essential to help the students out of their critically depressed state, which might otherwise prove fatal for them.
Imran Hossain, masters student of political science at the university and residents of Habibur Rahman Hall, said his roommate Farid hossain often said to him that he would commit suicide as he did not obtain marks as he expected.
Nazim Uddin of Mohanpur in Rajshahi, whose daughter studies in mass communication and journalism department at RU, told New Age that the students of the university were committing suicide, which was a matter of grave concern for the guardians.
‘I and my wife always have to remain in uncertainty about my daughter,’ he lamented.
Rajshahi divisional coordinator of Bangladesh Women Lawyer Association Dil Setara Chuni said if the judicial process of society breaks these incidents increases.
-With New Age input
