Saradha hand hangs himself

Balurghat, May 22: A 22-year-old former clerk with the Saradha Group allegedly committed suicide, having lost his job and money he had invested in the money-mobilising firm. Sumit Das, a resident of Bridgekali in Balurghat, was found hanging from the ceiling of his room this morning. This is the first suicide in South Dinajpur after the Saradha default crisis had erupted in the state a month back. Sumkit ate dinner last night and went to his room. “When he didn’t come out of the room this morning, mother Doli knocked on the door repeatedly. There was no response and when she opened the window, she saw her son hanging from the ceiling,” said a police source. Balurghat police broke open the door and seized the body for post-mortem. Sumit’s relatives said he had been a clerk in the company’s office in Balurghat for two years and used to receive a monthly salary of Rs 7,000. His father Samir Das was also an employee in Saradha Group’s same office and both lost their jobs when the company wound up its operations in Balurghat on April 18. Gopal Mohanta, a maternal uncle of Sumit, said the youth had invested Rs 25,000 in Saradha. “His family also deposited Rs 1 lakh. After the Saradha scam came to light, Sumit was worried and he never thought that he would get back his deposits.” Pratima, the wife of Samir’s brother, said the job loss was the main reason for Sumit’s suicide. “Since the office was shut, he became morose and always remained away from home. Sumit wouldn’t speak much to us either.” Uttam Ghosh, the deputy superintendent of police, (headquarter), Balurghat, said: “Primarily, it seems to be a case of suicide. So far, we have received no information that he had debts. A case of unnatural death was registered. We didn’t recover a suicide note.”