BANGALORE: An elite Force protecting the critical infrastructure of India is crippling due to stress. Thursday's incident where a head constable used his service pistol to shoot himself was shocking, but was not the first incident. A number of such suicides are reported from the CISF, mostly at the junior levels where an officer has to face a number of hardships.
An investigating officer of Eshwar Singh's suicide case from Devanahalli police station said: "He was posted just 15 days back to Bengaluru International Airport, so there is no question of harassment from the higher ups. It looks as if he had some personal problem which could be the reason and we are investigating it." Any armed personnel is permitted to use a firearm only because they have a stable mental status, but the increase in the stress level as time goes might be the reason for taking such extreme step, say experts.
Talking to Express a senior personnel from the CISF on conditions of anonymity said: "Most of the suicides recorded so far have been of personnel who were middle-aged and in the lower ranks especially in constable and head constable level. A jawan may be posted anywhere and staying away from the family for a long time. Failing to support them when in crisis has been a major reason for taking up such extreme steps." "When stress level shoots up, a person has no control over his emotions.
Especially a family plays a major role in calming down one during stressful times, but when the family is away and a jawan is staying with new people, he has nobody to listen to his problems.
The easy access to the weapon makes it easy for them to commit suicide, especially when on duty,” said Preethi, a Psychiatrist from a private hospital.
CISF jawan Pawan Singh said: "We have a family which is equivalent to not having one. We don't get to see our children grow. We are not there to celebrate their success in schools. We don’t get to attend our family functions. However, all this fades off when we realise that we are doing a bigger service of serving the nation."