In a freak incident, a youth who tried to enact a prank suicide act fell victim to it on the outskirts of Tirupati on Sunday night. Watching the prank on a video call, his friend tried his best to rescue the youth, but in vain.
According to information, Siva (25), who works at the tinkering unit of an automobile workshop, was addicted to liquor for the last three years. He is the resident of Damineedu village under Tiruchanur police circle. During the last one month, following hectic election campaigning, the youth found to be totally immersed in liquor consumption.
In this backdrop, at around 10 p.m. (on Sunday), keeping the mobile in a stable state, Siva made a video call to a friend (residing in Tirupati town), from his residence, saying that he was going to commit suicide by hanging himself to the ceiling fan. At first, the incoherent behaviour of Siva preparing the noose with a saree, made his friend take it for granted, thinking that it was a prank. However, he had immediately alerted the police, while watching the video.
All of a sudden, the youth started battling for life, hanging from the ceiling fan. Though he made desperate attempts to snatch a grip at the ground and to escape from the noose, it went futile. After a couple of minutes, the youth stopped showing any sign of life.
Circle-Inspector (Tiruchanur) G. Ashok Kumar told The Hindu that by the time the police and the youth’s friends rushed to Damineedu, the youth was already dead. “As Siva had bolted the door from inside, it had to be broken open. Going by the video, it is clear that the youth tried to do a prank, but it had cost him his very life,” he said.
The police officer observed that except for boozing, Siva was known to all at his work station and other circles as a friendly person, with no past history of involvement in any crime. “Heavy addiction to liquor had thrown him into a psychological disorder,” he said. A case has been registered. The body was shifted to SVRR Hospital for autopsy.
