A 58-year-old office assistant (OA) at the Katpadi Block Development Office in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu allegedly committed suicide by hanging on the premises of the office on Friday.
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Mahalingam of Old Katpadi allegedly ended his life to help his son get a government job on the compassionate ground, police said. He took the extreme step a week before his retirement.
The Katpadi police recovered a suicide note from his shirt pocket. In the suicide note, Mahalingam had stated that he was in a state of depression.
He alleged that his colleagues were responsible for his death. Mahalingam stated that one of his colleagues had abused and humiliated him recently, police said quoting the suicide note.
A source in the police department stated that Mahalingam's service would end on March 31 and a retirement function had been organised. He was depressed as his son did not have a proper work.
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"We suspect that he committed suicide to help his son get a government job on the compassionate ground," said a police officer privy to the investigation.
Superintendent of police P Pakalavan said it was a clear case of suicide. "We suspect that he took the extreme step due to personal issues," the SP said.
Mahalingam came to office around 9 am and asked the night watchman, Kaliyappan, to go for breakfast. When Kaliyappan returned to the office around 10.15am, he found the body of Mahalingam hanging from the branch of a tree on the premises of the office.
The police said Mahalingam had brought a rope to commit suicide.
In her complaint, his wife Amuthavalli stated that her husband was worried about their son's future. Her husband and son had not been in talking terms, she said.
The police shifted the body to the Government Vellore Medical College Hospital for postmortem.
They registered a case and began inquiries with the colleagues and family members of the deceased.
Mahalingam is survived by his wife Amuthavalli, two daughters and a son.