NUAPADA: The alleged suicide by a security guard at Nuapada district headquarters hospital (DHH) on Sunday charged up the political atmosphere here ahead of the November 11 by-election.
The deceased was identified as 46-year-old Laghutam Sahu, a resident of Palasaguda village. Sahu reportedly jumped from the seventh floor of the DHH building in the afternoon. He was engaged as a security guard at the hospital by an outsourcing agency. Sources said Sahu was reportedly under severe financial distress as he had not received his salary for the past nine months.
Following the incident, Congress workers led by OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das and senior party leaders staged demonstration on the hospital premises in the evening. They demanded resignation of Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling and Rs 1 crore compensation for Sahu’s family.
The Congress leaders also demanded a government job for one of Sahu’s family members and a thorough probe into the working of the outsourcing agency which had engaged the security guard at the hospital. A Congress delegation also met the Nuapada collector, SP and the sub-collector in connection with the incident.
The Congress leaders were informed by the administration that their demands cannot be met right away as the model code of conduct was in force. However, the demands would be duly considered after the by-election.
Later, BJD candidate for Nuapada by-election Snehangini Chhuria, the party’s Padampur MLA Barsha Singh Bariha and former Jharsuguda MLA Dipali Das also met district collector Madhusudan Dash and submitted similar demands for compensation and a fair investigation into the incident.
Police said the deceased security guard’s body was seized and an investigation has been launched to ascertain the exact circumstances leading to his death. The postmortem is scheduled to be conducted on Monday.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
