Tag: suicide

  • Google launches dedicated suicide helpline for Pakistanis

    Google launches dedicated suicide helpline for Pakistanis

    The internet giant, Google has introduced a suicide hotline one box for Pakistan, which allows users to connect immediately with a suicide helpline at the top of the search results page.

    The hotline termed ‘Umang Pakistan’ will now be displayed to anyone in Pakistan seeking suicide-related queries such as “suicide-support” and “how can I commit suicide”.

    The implementation of this special service will aid worried Pakistanis in recovering from whatsoever hardship they are enduring. The hotline will assist stressed individuals and provide solutions to alleviate the anxiety that they are currently encountering.

    Suicide ratio in Pakistan

    Umang is a mental health helpline recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) that provides support to Pakistanis who are contemplating or planning suicide due to any reason.

    The relationship between Umang and Google, according to Google, intends to help address Pakistan’s growing suicide rate. Keeping in view WHO estimates, Pakistan has between 130,000 and 270,000 attempted suicide cases per year.

    Meanwhile, Google Trends shows that topics like “anxiety,” “depression,” and “suicide” all spiked in the 2020-21 era in the country, according to the internet company.

    This search update is currently available on both desktop and mobile devices, including Android and iOS, and here’s how it appears in the google search:

  • Bride commits suicide because of no toilet at husband’s home

    Bride commits suicide because of no toilet at husband’s home

    A 27-year-old woman allegedly died by suicide over her husband’s inability to set up a toilet in their house, reports India Times.

    Ramya from Tamil Nadu in India, a pharmacist by profession, got married to Karthikeyan on April 6.

    It was reported that right after a day of their marriage, Ramya returned to her mother’s house as there was no functional toilet at her husband’s place.

    Despite her husband’s reassurances that he would rent a house with a toilet facility, he never fulfilled any promise. Subsequently, Ramya, disheartened and disappointed, committed suicide on May 10. Her mother found her hanging from her sari.

    She was rushed to the hospital and was admitted there for two days but she eventually passed away on Tuesday.

    Ramya’s mother lodged a complaint against Karthikeyan. However, as per the media report, police are investigating her father’s role in her being upset as he did not approve of the marriage and had not attended any of the events.

  • Female doctor commits suicide over accusation of pregnant woman’s death

    A female doctor committed suicide after she was accused of killing a pregnant woman during delivery complications in Rajasthan, India. The family of the pregnant woman, who died on Tuesday, accused Dr Archna Sharma of her death.

    According to reports, the family protested in front of a private hospital and demanded to file a case against the doctor. Police registered a case against Dr Sharma on their complaint.

    Police say Dr Archna Sharma was tense over the case. When she returned home, she committed suicide by hanging herself. The doctor wrote a suicide note as well before taking her life.

    “I made no mistake, the patient died of a complication during childbirth,” wrote Dr Sharma.

    She also wrote that innocent doctors should not be harassed by the authorities. She also hoped that her death will prove her innocence.

  • Suicides by women continue to rise for the second year in Japan

    Suicides by women continue to rise for the second year in Japan

    The number of Japanese women who committed suicide continued to rise for a second year in Japan. However, the overall suicide rate has decreased since 2021, said the Japanese police on Tuesday.

    According to data from the National Police Agency, the number of women who took their own lives increased by 42 to 7,068 in the second year, 2022. While the number of men who killed themselves was decreased by 116 to 13,939.

    According to some media reports, coronavirus is one of the major reasons for the cause in increasing suicide rate of women.

    The pandemic has put up more distress and pressure on women after losing jobs in those sectors where Japanese women tend to work such as services and retail sectors.

    According to the Japanese Health Ministry, the country has a long history of suicide culture where people died by suicide for avoiding the shame of dishonour. Japan has the highest suicide rate among the group of seven nations(G-7).

    Although in 15 years, the suicide rate was dropped by 40% by national effort, the pandemic has risen suicide rate among people due to mental health problems.

  • Brig Asad Munir acquitted of false allegations by NAB three years after his death

    Brig Asad Munir acquitted of false allegations by NAB three years after his death

    Brigadier (retd) Asad Munir, who committed suicide after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had decided to file a reference of abuse of office against him back in March 2019, was acquitted of the false allegations three years after his death.

    The late army officer took his life on March 16, 2019, and left a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, pleading his innocence.

    Munir along with Brig (retd) Nusratullah, Ghulam Sarwar Sidhu, and Mohammad Hussain were accused of involvement in alleged corruption in allotting over 400 acres of land for shuttle service in the Diplomatic Enclave, Islamabad, to its contractor Hussain.

    The shuttle service was planned as a security feature in the Diplomatic Enclave for those required to visit different embassies to acquire visas. 

    Even then, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had rejected the allegation and stated it follows all rules and procedures in the allotment of the land. 

    Munir’s name was put on the Exit Control List (ECL). While pleading his innocence in a letter to the then Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, he wrote that he was being driven to take his own life. Munir committed suicide on March 16, 2019.

    Advocate Imran Shafiq said that the CDA and other departments had thoroughly investigated the case and could not find any shred of evidence to prove that the deceased, Asad Munir, or any other accused Brig (retd) Nusratullah, Ghulam Sarwar Sidhu, and Mohammad had committed any wrongdoing. 

    Munir’s daughter Meena took to Twitter and wrote, “Nab destroyed our family and they should be held accountable.”

    “He lost his life in March 2019 and blamed NAB for torturing, humiliating his honour through a false case.”

    Senior journalist Hamid Mir tweeted, “Those who involved him in a fake case are still alive but they belong to the dead part of this society.”

    Veteran journalist Abbas Nasir tweeted, “Such a travesty to lose such a wonderful man to NAB shenanigans. NAB should be held to account.”

  • A class nine student attempts suicide, jumps off school building in Lahore, severely injured

    A class nine student attempts suicide, jumps off school building in Lahore, severely injured

    A 14-year-old student jumped from the third floor of his school building in Lahore on Monday, and received a severe injury to the spinal cord.

    The student is in class nine and is enrolled in a private school in Township, Lahore.

    According to details, the student had a fight with an older student in class ten. The school administration decided to punish him by not allowing him to take the exam and asked him to stand outside the classroom during the examination.

    The student’s father accused a teacher of misbehaving with his son which forced him to take the extreme step of attempting suicide.

    He said, “The teacher told my son that his career is over.”

    The victim received an injury to the spinal cord and doctors are not hopeful for his recovery.

    The school principal, Ahsanullah Waqas took action by suspending two teachers. He said the punishment given to the student was a regular punishment given to misbehaving students.

    Notice of the incident has been taken by Chief Secretary Punjab and the school has been ordered to submit a response by February 16.

    According to the District Education Authority, a proposal was also in consideration to revoke the license or closure of the school.

  • When Asha Bhosle’s daughter and Lata Mangeshkar’s niece Varsha committed suicide in Mumbai

    When Asha Bhosle’s daughter and Lata Mangeshkar’s niece Varsha committed suicide in Mumbai

    Daughter of veteran Singer, Asha Bhosle, Varsha Bhosle committed suicide at her mother’s house Prabhu Kunj, at Peddar Road, in South Mumbai on 8th October 2012.

    According to Indian media, she had suicidal tendencies as in the past she attempted suicide twice, once even hospitalized for gulping down sleeping pills. She was battling depression and shot herself with her licensed revolver belonging to Mangeshkar family and ended her life.

    Mumbai Police confirmed the death as suicide.

    Varsha Bhosle and Asha Bhosle

    Varsha Bhosle, 56, was born in the year 1956.She did her schooling from Hill Grange High School and tried her hand at singing for Marathi and Hindi Films. She also accompanied her mother for various concerts. She then became a Journalist. She was a columnist at Rediff.com (1997-2003), also wrote for The Sunday Observer (1994-1998) and also for The Times of India and Gentleman Magazine (1993).

    She married sports Journalist Hemant Kenkre and was divorced in 1998. Since then she had been living with her mother at their Pedder Road residence.

    As soon as the news of her demise came in, Asha Bhosle rushed back to Mumbai from Singapore. The news of her death came as a shock to everyone.

  • ’Go out for dinner’, Nurse allegedly harassed by hospital’s administration

    ’Go out for dinner’, Nurse allegedly harassed by hospital’s administration

    Parveen Rind, a practising nurse at Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences for Women (PUMHS), Nawabshah alleged that she had been harassed by the university administration since her first year at the university, reports BBC Urdu.

    Rind alleged that “we were told to be friends with them, go out to dinner or else they would fail, cancel the admission and would beat us or harass us if we did not comply with their demands.”

    She added that on the morning of February 9th, three masked women barged into her hostel room, attempted to kill her and threatened her that if she tells anyone about the harassment, she would be dead. After the incident, the victim immediately told her family.

    In a video that is circling around social media, Rind can be seen saying that no girl is safe at the university’s hostel. She said that no student had committed suicide at the hostel, apparently referring to the mysterious deaths of Dr Nimrita and Dr Nosheen Shah in their hostel rooms in Chandka Medical College, Larkana, Naila Rind’s death in her hostel room in Sindh University, and Dr Asmat Rajput’s ‘suicide’ in her home in Sita Road town. “All had been killed”, she claimed.

    After protesting against the university administration and repeated complaints, the Sindh health minister Dr Azra Pechuho formed a three-member inquiry committee, reports Dawn.

    The chairman of the committee informed the PUMHS Vice-Chancellor (VC) that he would conduct an inquiry into the incident on February 11 (today) at 10am. As per the media, they have started the investigation without waiting for the report.

    However, the university’s registrar rejected Rind’s statement in a press release and said that no such incident had taken place.

  • Senate Interior Committee passes bill to decriminalise suicide in Pakistan

    Senate Interior Committee passes bill to decriminalise suicide in Pakistan

    The Senate Interior Committee has passed the bill for decriminalising suicide in Pakistan and demanded amendments in section 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The bill was first introduced by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) member, Senator Shahadat Awan, in the Senate.

    It stated, “Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.”

    Awan said that the families do not take suicide victims to hospitals in fear of police and other legal obstacles.

    The committee also recommended that the government should initiate psychological treatments for victims who take extreme action of attempting to end their lives.

    During the meeting, a senator from Balochistan Awami Party, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, said that suicide is forbidden in Islam but what should be done about those who survive during the suicide attempt.

    In response, Azam Nazeer Tarar from Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) said that there are other actions which are forbidden in Islam that are not accountable by law. He added that here we are talking about humanity.

  • Woman commits suicide with lover after parents force her into arranged marriage

    Woman commits suicide with lover after parents force her into arranged marriage

    A man and a woman reportedly committed suicide by consuming poisonous pills after their families did not agree to their marriage, The Express Tribune reported.

    The lovers, Adnan and Muqaddas, wished to marry each other but the woman’s parents had arranged her marriage elsewhere.

    On the wedding day, the disappointed couple committed suicide by consuming poisonous pills.

    Read More: Two arrested after minor girl’s body found in Metro station washroom

    After the incident was reported to the police, the officials took the bodies into custody. The bodies were handed over to the families after the legal formalities.

    According to the police, the marriage ceremony was about to happen when the incident took place.

    The funerals of both the deceased were held amid a gloomy atmosphere in the village.