Chennai: A 33-year-old woman of two children, who was under depression, died by suicide after she was disturbed over being blamed on social media for “neglecting” her eight-month-old baby girl who fell from the balcony of their house and was dramatically rescued.
Ramya, who was suffering from postpartum depression since she delivered her second child, ended her life on Saturday at her parent’s house in Coimbatore, where she and her husband had gone after the toddler fell from the balcony of their house on the outskirts of Chennai on April 28.
Videos of the baby being rescued by neighbours and others residing in the apartment complex went viral. The comments by several people on various social media platforms targeted the mother and blamed her for being “irresponsible” by not taking care of the baby.
Ramya’s family said she was upset over the reaction on social media to the video and was depressed over the comments made by people. Since she was under stress, she left to Coimbatore along with her husband and elder kid to be with her parents.
“It is believed that she was extremely stressed. She died by suicide on Saturday when her parents and her husband were not at home,” a police officer said. “The family informed us about the incident and we have launched an enquiry,” the officer added.
The officer further said the family informed the police about her depression and how they kept her under their watch. Ramya and her husband worked in the IT sector and were living in Chennai. “The father of the victim told us that she was not well after the incident and was affected mentally,” he added.
On April 28, the baby girl slipped from the hands of her mother who was holding her and fell two storeys down, following which neighbours rescued the child after much effort.
The short video showed three men trying to climb up from a first floor window to rescue the child while more than a dozen people held a bedsheet open with a mattress under it at the ground floor to rescue the child.