Pain, stress lead Odisha man with HIV to set himself ablaze

The 40-year-old man of Sunaposi village under Tiring police limits suffered recurring illness three years back and tested positive for HIV.
Image used for representational purpose only
Image used for representational purpose only

BARIPADA: In a shocking incident, an HIV positive person, unable to bear the physical pain and mental stress, committed suicide by setting himself on fire in Mayurbhanj district on Friday.

The 40-year-old man of Sunaposi village under Tiring police limits suffered recurring illness three years back and tested positive for HIV.

A daily wage earner, he could not go for costly treatment and was dependent on the Government hospitals for medicines.

As his father and elder brother had died several years back and he was single, he was staying alone in the house.

With nobody to take care of him, he slipped into depression. At around 3 pm on Friday, his neighbours heard his screams and rushed to his house.

They found him on fire. He had set himself ablaze after pouring kerosene on himself. The man had reportedly sustained 60-70 per cent burn injuries and was rushed to Rairangpur Sub-Divisional Hospital where the doctors declared him dead three hours after treatment.

According to neighbours, the man was admitted to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Government Medical College and Hospital, Baripada six months back when his condition started to deteriorate.

“He might have taken the extreme step due to mental stress caused by the disease,” said one of the neighbours.

Following his death, the hospital authorities informed Rairangpur Town police who informed the Tiring police.

IIC of Tiring police station Herophinia Hansdah said she was aware of the incident and a police team had been sent to Rairangpur hospital. Next course of action will be taken after getting the report from the team, she added.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com