Rendered jobless due to lockdown, truck driver ends life in Ludhiana

Victim’s 15-year-old daughter says the family had run out of money, which prompted her father to take the extreme step

A 38-year-old truck driver ended his life by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his house in Lohara locality in Ludhiana on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. The victim, who earlier worked as a driver with a local transport company, had been depressed as he had been jobless for the last two months due to the lockdown.

He was a driver with a local transport and was not getting any job due to the curfew in the state. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

His wife was the first to discover the body of her husband. Their 15-year-old daughter said that the victim had been unemployed for the past two months and the family had run out of money, which prompted him to take the extreme step.

She said that on Wednesday, she, along with her mother and two siblings, were sleeping on the terrace, while her father was in the room. “The next morning, when my mother came down, she found my father’s body hanging from the ceiling fan,” the girl said.

Assistant sub inspector (ASI) Ranjit Singh, who is investigating the case, said the police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of Code of Criminal Proceedings on the statement of victim’s wife and sent the body for post-mortem.