Chennai photojournalist dies by suicide at workplace

T Kumar, a senior photojournalist working for a news agency here, allegedly killed himself in his office. A colleague spotted his body on Sunday night.

CHENNAI: T Kumar, a senior photojournalist working for a news agency here, allegedly killed himself in his office. A colleague spotted his body on Sunday night. Later, Kumar’s body was taken to the Kilpauk Government Medical College Hospital by the police for autopsy and handed over to his family. Kumar (56) is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.

Sources in the news agency here said Kumar was facing financial trouble amid a “backlog of salaries.” A photojournalist with over 30 years of experience, he rose through the ranks of the news agency to become its State bureau chief.

Condoling the death of Kumar, Chief Minister MK Stalin granted a solatium of Rs 3 lakh from the journalists’ welfare fund. AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami also condoled
his death.

“The incident has shaken up all the 250-odd UNI employees across the country, who are reeling under severe economic pressure due to the delay/non-payment of their earned wages for more than a decade now. There is a backlog of 60 months of salaries, yet the management’s callous attitude is unchanged,” the UNI All-India Employees’ Front said.

The UNI Front said Kumar had sought Rs 1 lakh for medical expenses for his wife who met with an accident a few months ago. Though he had sought this amount from the pending payment due from the UNI, he was granted only Rs 25,000. “Kumar had also applied for Rs 5 lakh towards the marriage of his daughter who is getting engaged next week. But the management hadn’t responded,” the UNI Front added.

(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)