'Till Death Do Us Part': Teen Couple Commits Suicide In Thar

'Till Death Do Us Part': Teen Couple Commits Suicide In Thar
Two teens committed suicide in the Nangarparker tehsil of district Tharparkar, police said on Thursday.

The LEA said that the bodies of the two teens were found hanging from a tree in Kohira village earlier today.

The deceased were identified as 16-year-old Minawati, daughter of Danjhi Kohli, and 18-year-old Ajay Kumar aka Mithun, son of Mannu Kohli.

During the preliminary inquiry, police said that the teens were involved in an affair and took the extreme step after the refusal by their parents to marry them. According to the SHO, "They chose to die together rather than live apart."

On the other hand, parents of the deceased are overwhelmed with grief, saying they were unaware of the affair between the two and wouldn't have objected to their marriage if they had the knowledge of their relationship.

The initial postmortem report says that the neckbones of both the deceased were broken and there were marks of strangulation on them.

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Meanwhile, members of the civil society have expressed strong reservations on the surging trend. The toll of reported suicide cases this year in Thar has reached 16. The number of reported cases of suicide from the desert area was 127 last year.

The rising distress in the society is resulting in a surge in suicide cases, with children being the worst of victims, according to speakers at a conference recently held in Mithi.

Addressing the gathering, Deputy Commissioner Tharparkar Lal Dino Mangi highlighted that people are undergoing distress due to various reasons.

As far as children are concerned, the initial signs of depression are ignored by their parents. “It is turning into a pandemic,” he warned.

Other speakers at the gathering were of the view that social and electronic media platforms should be used to highlight suicide prevention, and urged a joint effort from the civil society and the authorities concerned.

The author is a practicing lawyer and freelance journalist. His areas of interest are cultural diversity and socio-political issues of Sindh.