Suicides by Karnataka cops 2nd highest in South

BENGALURU: On January 15, 2012, people present at the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) grounds in Madiwala were in for a shock. Veerupaksha Nayak, a 35-yearold constable, had hanged himself from an obstacle post. Married with two kids, Veerupaksha reportedly took the extreme step following mounting debts.
As per ministry of home affairs (MHA) records, 39 cops ended their life in Karnataka between 2012 and 2014.The state stands the second highest in suicides by police personnel in South India, and is fifth in the country.
Karnataka recorded 17, 15 and 7 suicides by cops in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively .While Tamil Nadu recorded 116 cases during the threeyear period, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh recorded 32 and 23 cases each.
In its report, MHA said: “The causative factors in most cases were found to be personal and domestic problems such as marital discords, personal enmity , mental illness, depression, etc.In a few cases, work stress could be the reason.“
Even Karnataka police officers maintain that most suicides in the state have been due to personal, not professional, reasons. Only in a couple of cases, were the suicid es a result of harassment by senior officers,“ says a police officer. However, the men in uni form say work pressure can aggravate stress levels significantly. “It might be true that many have ended their lives because of personal reasons.However, the nature of our job is such that one gets little time to address problems at home or attend to personal issues, often adding to frustration.Manpower management is one of the toughest part of running police stations, which are mostly shortstaffed,“ said an officer of sub-inspector rank requesting anonymity .

The number of cops committing suicide in Karnataka is a pointer to the sorry state of affairs and how growing frustration is pushing many to the wall. It's common knowledge that the state's police department is in dire need of more manpower. Mounting personal and professional stress can have a detrimental effect on cops who work to gruelling schedules and little scope to unwind. The government should take immediate measures to fill vacancies in the department so that law enforcers can deliver to their full potential without getting bogged down. A healthy police force is crucial to a state's safety and security.