CHENNAI: An 18-year-old boy committed suicide by allegedly jumping off a 60-foot sidewall at a CMBT Metro Rail station on Friday afternoon.“Shrivanth K Arun got off the train at 3. 30 pm and waited for about five minutes at platform no 1 and after the train moved and passengers left, he allegedly climbed atop the sidewall and jumped,” said an investigation officer. “He was in his school uniform and jumped with his bag into a vacant land,” the officer added. Preliminary investigations revealed that he was depressed.
The victim’s father Krishnan works as LIC divisional manager in Vellore. He resided in Teynampet along with his mother, a home-maker.A plus-two student in a private school at Chetpet, he used to travel by public transport. On Friday, he had taken a ticket from Pachaiyappa’s College station and the CCTV recorded him jumping off the sidewall. A senior CMRL officer said that at the time of the incident, no station controller was present. “Due to shortage of employees, between 12 pm and 4 pm in a majority of stations, no qualified station controller is present,” the officer added.
Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050).