420 Tharis died by suicide in last seven years: police

At least 420 people have died by suicide in Sindh’s Tharparkar district over the last seven years, according to data collected from the SSP office.

These people committed suicide from 2014 till now for various reasons. The deceased include 272 women.

Two men and 12 women ended their lives in 2014, three men and 13 women in 2015, and 15 men and 12 women committed suicide in 2016.

In 2017, 38 men and 41 women died by suicide. Forty-nine men and 53 women killed themselves during the worst drought faced by the desert district in 2018.

So far this year, 98 people have died by suicide. The deceased include 60 women. The SSP office record does not state why the victims ended their lives.

Relatives of over 90% deceased told the police that they had been facing some mental disorders and sick for a long time.

Most women killed themselves by jumping into wells. A majority of such men hanged themselves from trees.

Related: Thar protests police inaction in rape-suicide case investigations

Families of individuals who committed suicides used to hide it in the absence of telephone and internet services. People shared details of these incidents when they got connected with the internet, compelling journalists to report them too.

The recent cases of suicides committed by teenaged rape victims in Kunral and Dalan Jo Tarr villages have created an uproar in the region. They prompted people to take to streets demanding police investigate the reasons behind the increasing number of suicide cases in Tharparkar.

Rights activists and members of the civil society believe that if proper investigation is conducted, more than 80 per cent suicides of teenaged girls and boys would turn out to be the result of sexual harassment by their close relatives and neighbours.

SSP Tharparkar Hassan Sardar Niazi says he is ready to provide all-possible assistance but a majority of heirs do not cooperate with the police.

“They prefer to give written statements to police that their loved ones were facing mental health issues,” he said.

Suicide prevention

Here’s what you should do if someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide:

• Do not leave the person alone.

• Remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt.

• Take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional

• You can get in touch with the following mental health helplines and speak to them.

• Mind Organisation 042 35761999
• Umang 0317 4288665
• Talk2me.pk 0333 4065139
• Baat Karo 0335 5743344
• Taskeen 0332 5267936
• Rooh 0333 3337664
• Rozan 0800-22444
• OpenCounseling 042 35761999