Man dies by suicide after 2 candidates supported by him lost panchayat polls

Police said some people mocked the 32-year-old man after the two persons he had campaigned for lost the election

HALDWANI: A 32-year-old man in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district died by suicide after two candidates he had campaigned for lost the three-tier panchayat elections, police said on Friday.

Police said further investigations into the death would be conducted if a formal complaint was received (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Pantnagar police station house officer (SHO) Sundaram Sharma said the man was devastated by the defeat of two candidates who he had supported for the posts of gram pradhan and block development committee (BDC) member.

He had been actively involved with campaigning for them and had worked hard for their victory.

“The man was reportedly heartbroken by the outcome. Locals allegedly began mocking him, accusing him of supporting one set of candidates but voting for another,” said Sharma.

The man stepped out of his house on Thursday evening without informing his family and later called a friend to meet him at Imlighat on the banks of the Gaula river.

“When the friend arrived, he found him lying on the riverbank and foaming at the mouth. A packet of poison was discovered in his pocket, and a water bottle was lying nearby,” the officer said.

Before he died, Sharma said the man told his friend that he had worked hard to help the candidates win, but was now being labelled a traitor, which he could not bear.

The friend immediately alerted the family and others, who rushed to the spot. They attempted to induce vomiting and take him to a private hospital in Rudrapur, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Sharma said the body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem was conducted on Friday.

“No complaint has been received from the family so far,” Sharma added.