Kerala sees highest suicides by unemployed persons

Close on the heels of an unemployed youth ending his life in Kerala that snowballed into a major political row, National Crime Records Bureau's recent report shows that Kerala tops the number of unemployed persons ending their life in 2019.

According to the recently released NCRB report, out of 14,019 unemployed persons ending life, majority, 14 percent, was in Kerala with 1,963 suicides, followed by 10.8 percent in Maharashtra with 1,511 suicides, 9.8 percent in Tamil Nadu with 1,368 suicides, 9.2 percent in Karnataka with 1,293 suicides and 6.1 percent in Odisha with 858 suicides.

The fresh report is being used by the Opposition Congress in Kerala to further step up the attack against the ruling Left Front government over backdoor appointments and the flaws in recruitment through Public Service Commission, even as the reason for all the suicides need not be unemployment.

AICC general secretary and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the fresh report had exposed Kerala government's justification that the suicide of youth in Thiruvananthapuram recently citing unemployment was an isolated incident.

Kerala is witnessing the highest unemployment rate and the government must take moral responsibility of the death of youths due to unemployment, he said.

S Anu, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, was found hanging in his house on Sunday morning. In a suicide note recovered from the house, it was written that unemployment was the cause. He had secured 77th rank in the Public Service Commission recruitment test to the post of civil excise officer in Kerala Excise Department.

But he feared that the list got expired in June, even as the PSC authorities now denied it.

Kerala is witnessing strong protests against the PSC over the issue. The recent allegations of backdoor appointment of gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh to a state government agency had ignited the protests.