THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nearly a month after a police officer committed suicide in a lodge room following job pressure in Kochi, another police officer was found hanging at the police quarters at Palayam here on Saturday. Incidentally, he resorted to the extreme step a day before he was to rejoin service after a long leave. The deceased is Roy Christopher, 55. He was a grade sub-inspector of band wing at the Armed Reserve camp.
According to the Museum police, the body was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his quarters on the fourth floor of one of the blocks of the building. The police said he was under depression for quite some time owing to job pressure. The body was found by his wife and the residents in the nearby quarters around 3 pm after the door was found locked from inside. The police said Roy, hailing from Vattiyoorkavu, was staying in the quarters for a long time. He used to play clarinet in the police band. For the last 60 days, he was on leave for taking treatment for his alcoholism. He was asked to rejoin service on Sunday.
As per the relatives’ account, Roy was not allowed to enter the residence as he was in an inebriated condition in the morning. Later, he was allowed to enter the house after the other family members went to the other quarters. When they returned, the door was found locked from inside. Though they repeatedly rang the calling bell, he did not respond. They sought the help of other policemen to open the door and found his body hanging from the ceiling fan. The police completed the inquest formalities and shifted the body to the Medical College Hospital mortuary. The post-mortem examination will be held on Sunday, the police said.
Last month, a 40-year-old probationary SI, Gopakumar was found hanging in a lodge in Kochi. He was serving as an SI at Ernakulam North police station. He also left a suicide note accusing his senior police officers for his death. Since the incident, state police chief Loknath Behera had initiated measures to relieve the stress of policemen in the state. Last month, a 53-year-old ASI P M Thomas of Kadavanthra police station was also found hanging in the police station.