Frustrated over being unemployed, a 23-year-old graduate and a police job aspirant, allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a moving train in Khammam town in the wee hours of Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Muthyala Sagar, a native of Garla Bayyaram in Mahabubabad district.
The tragic death of the young graduate, a NCC ‘C’ certificate holder, triggered widespread protests with activists of the PDSU, PYL, DYFI and a host of other youth organisations blaming the State government for its alleged failure to address the unemployment problem and disburse the promised unemployment allowance to jobless youth.
The mutilated body of Sagar was found on the railway tracks near Mamillagudem in the town in the early hours of the day. The Khammam Government Railway Police (GRP) examined the scene and registered a case.
Volunteers of the Annam Seva Foundation led by Srinivasa Rao shifted the body to the mortuary at the district headquarters hospital.
Touching scenes were witnessed at the hospital as Badraiah, father of the deceased, cried inconsolably over the tragic death of his only son.
A tense situation prevailed in front of the hospital when a group of PDSU and PYL activists staged a demonstration demanding justice to the bereaved family. Police dispersed the protesters from the hospital compound.
Speaking to media persons, PDSU district president Namala Azad said Sagar hailed from a poor labourer’s family and completed his graduation despite financial difficulties.
He excelled in NCC activities while pursuing his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree course at a local college and after completion of graduation he had joined a coaching center to secure a police job.
However, the inordinate delay in release of job notifications and the COVID induced turbulent times shattered his hopes of securing a government job, Azad said, deploring that the young graduate ended his life in despair.
Azad said Sagar in his WhatsApp status on his mobile phone blamed lack of job notifications and COVID crisis for his resorting to the drastic step.
The State government should sanction ₹50 lakh ex-gratia to the bereaved family and immediately release job notifications and also disburse unemployment allowance among jobless youth, the PDSU leader demanded.
(Roshini — Suicide Prevention Helpline: 040-66202000)
