KOCHI: A 19-year-old sailor of the Indian Navy was found hanging on board aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in the early hours of Thursday. The deceased sailor is unmarried and a native of Muzaffarpur in Bihar. He joined the Indian Navy in 2021 and had been deployed on board INS Vikrant after the commissioning of the indigenous aircraft carrier.
The body of the sailor has been shifted to hospital for postmortem examination and the Harbour police have booked a case. Navy sources said a statutory Board of Inquiry has been constituted to conduct an inquiry into the incident.
Though the Indian Navy has promulgated a policy to address the increasing incidents of suicide among service personnel, there has been an increase in such incidents recently. The Ministry of Defence informed the Parliament on July 19, 2022, that a comprehensive policy to prevent suicides among serving Navy personnel was promulgated on April 12. The strategy is called Indian Navy Strategy for Mental Health Assistance Resilience and Training or - IN - SMART. A toll-free helpline has also been made available exclusively for Indian Navy personnel at INHS Asvini the flagship hospital of the Indian Navy.
During the past five years, 29 Navy personnel have died by suicide.
On July 6, 2021, a 19-year-old Navy sailor was found dead at the C2 watchtower at Katribargh at 3.30 am with a bullet injury. The bullet was discharged from his service rifle at point-blank range. The victim Thushar Attri was an unmarried sailor hailing from Tappal village, Jarailiya, Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh.
On June 21, 2022, a 44-year-old Navy officer was found dead at Naval hospital in Kochi. The deceased was Lieutenant Commander Santosh Kumar Patro, a native of Odisha. He was found dead hanging in the hospital bathroom. Roopa Ram, 25, an electrical artificer and a native of Rajasthan was found hanging inside a hanger at a naval aircraft yard at Kochi Naval base on June 22, 2016.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. In case you feel distressed by the content or know someone in distress, call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7)