Tamil Nadu ranks second after Maharashtra in cop suicides

Chennai: The suicide of woman police officer R Vishnu Priya, who was serving as DSP in Namakkal district on Friday has stirred a hornet’s nest in Tamil Nadu with various political parties crying foul and demanding a CBI enquiry. But she was not the only police person who had committed suicide in the state in the recent years.

Every year, on an average 27 police personnel commit suicide in Tamil Nadu according to available NCRB data. In eight years from 2006 to 2013, as many as 216 police personnel had committed suicide in Tamil Nadu, which ranks next to only Maharashtra where 267 police personnel had taken their own lives.

Suicides by high-ranking officers are, however, relatively less. In March 2011in Chennai, a police inspector of Mylapore station had committed suicide in the lodge he was staying in. His suicide note also indicated work pressure from senior officers for his extreme act.

Every year, officers from the rank of DSP to DGP are supposed to undergo a detailed medical checkup. “Such checkups are supposed to detect possible stress factor as well. The medical team would advise accordingly. There are IPS officers who practice yoga or play badminton besides regular jogging to keep their body and mind healthy,” a senior state police officer pointed out.

But there is no such annual checkup for lower ranked police personnel, particularly for the members of the constabulary. “If their superior officers happened to notice any problem, then the person will be advised to go to a counsellor. There is no internal system to handle such things”, disclosed the officer.

While a good number of women constables allege unfriendly treatment from their male seniors, a senior woman IPS official, while talking to this newspaper, said that she never felt that she was discriminated in her service. Not everybody commits suicide because of work pressure.

A good number of police personnel kill themselves because of health, family or relationship issues, the officer added.