Depressed man kills self

When his wife walked out on him following a drunken quarrel, a depressed B Sudhakar set himself on fire. He eventually succumbed to his injuries

What seemed like just another domestic quarrel took an ugly turn when 28-year-old B Sudhakar committed suicide by setting himself ablaze after a tiff with his wife. According to the police, Sudhakar resorted to the extreme step on May 23 after he failed to make amends with Lavanya, his wife, following a drunken quarrel. He succumbed to his burns on May 26 while undergoing treatment at Osmania General Hospital.

According to the investigating officer S Ravi Kumar of Tappachabutra police station, although the matter was a simple one, Sudhakar took it very seriously and resorted to this extreme step. He further revealed that the suicide was a fall out after a quarrel that Sudhakar had with his wife Lavanya, following which she returned to her parents’ home.

The couple who stayed in Malaimet in a joint family, under Tappachabutra police station limits, were married three years back and had two children, a girl and a boy.

Sudhakar, who was a wood trader, was addicted to alcohol and would often return home in an inebriated condition. Owing to this, the couple would often fight. On May 3, Sudhakar as usual returned home drunk and quarrelled with Lavanya. Vexed with this, the latter left home and went to her parents’ house in Moula Ali along with her two children.

After two weeks, when Sudhakar finally realised his folly, he tried to make amends with Lavanya and persuade her to return home. But despite his repeated attempts, Lavanya refused to take his calls.

Depressed by his failure to patch up with his wife, Sudhakar went home on May 23 and poured kerosene on himself before setting himself ablaze. At the time of the incident his family members were not at home. When neighbours realised what was happening they immediately informed the police, who then shifted him to Osmania General Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, said Ravi Kumar.

Sudhakar’s extreme step came as a shock to his family. “If I had spoken to him, he would have never committed suicide. I had thought this was just another regular quarrel, I didn’t realise that it would drive him to take such a step,” said an inconsolable Lavanya, adding, “Now I have not only lost my husband but also the father of my children.”

In the meantime, the Tappachabutra police registered a case based on the deceased’s brother B Santosh’s complaint. “Investigations are on, but so far we don’t have any suspects, because Sudhakar in his statement had said that he had taken this extreme step due to the quarrel with his wife,” said Ravi Kumar, adding, “it was a very simple issue and I have not seen such a case so far in my service.”

Tags: depressed, drunken quarrel, featured, full-image, set self on fire

Category: City, City News