Amid lockdown man commits suicide due to withdrawal from alcohol

Hyderabad: A 53-year-old man allegedly killed himself in Banjara Hills, which is suspected to be the first case of suicide due to withdrawal from alcohol, after the lockdown was announced in Telangana. P. Madhu, who works in the Telugu film industry, was found dead at the Judges Quarters complex on Friday. Police suspect he jumped from the top floor. Earlier in the day, a similar case was reported from Thrissur district in Kerala. The victim, Sanoj Kulangara, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his home.

According to the Banjara Hills police, Madhu was staying at Indira Nagar in Banjara Hills and worked as a painter in the film industry. After the lockdown was imposed, the film industry had cancelled all shootings and other related activities. More than 2,800 alcohol shops and hundreds of bars and restaurants were also shut.

Madhu, who was an alcoholic, had been struggling without alcohol for four days. On Thursday night, he left home and his family members thought he had gone to meet his relatives in Jubilee Hills. On Friday morning, when they came to know that he did not visit them, his sons searched for him and later lodged a missing complaint with the police.

In the meantime, the Banjara Hills police attended to the information about an unidentified body near Judges’ quarters. The body was taken to the Osmania hospital for postmortem.

Madhu’s sons identified the body as their father and told the police that he was mentally disturbed from lack of alcohol which might have forced him to commit suicide.

Based on a complaint from Madhu’s elder son, a case of suspicious death was registered. A detailed investigation is underway, Banjara Hills police told the media.