Money worries and concerns over loan sharks may have led to the latest suicide in the Indian expatriate community.
Rental company employee Rajeevan Chelapuram, 40, was found hanged from a ceiling fan on Wednesday. Friends discovered the 40-year-old inside his room in Hamala around 6pm.
His tragic death was the fourth reported suicide this month, bringing the total number of reported cases in Bahrain this year to 10.
“He was forced to sign on blank papers by people from whom he borrowed money with interest,” leading Indian social worker Subair Kannur told the GDN. “He must have been scared.
“Post-Covid has been financially difficult for many, particularly the low and middle-income groups, many of whom recently appear to have become the unfortunate victims of loan sharks.
“Authorities should be made aware of a mafia operating in the expatriate community and people should be made aware of the traps they will encounter and despair they will face by accepting loans from these sources.
“Personally, I believe that people, particularly Indians, need to be educated on better financial discipline and planning, in addition to counselling,” added the Indian Community Relief Fund member.
A relative of Mr Chelapuram who lives in Bahrain confirmed the happily married man was worried over financial matters, which he claimed was the main ‘reason’ for the father-of-two to take his own life.
“Yes, he was forced to sign blank papers – I don’t know the full details,” he said. “He returned from work around 4pm and went into his room. When his colleagues returned at 6pm, the room was locked – they had to break the door open as he wasn’t responding and found him hanged from a ceiling fan.”
His death was confirmed at the scene by paramedics and his body was taken to the Salmaniya Medical Complex morgue where it awaits repatriation.
Mr Chelapuram had been a resident of Bahrain for more than 15 years and is survived by his wife, two sons aged four and seven, and his parents, who all live in his hometown of Pallikal Bazar in Malappuram, Kerala.
The loan sharks are offering easy credit to borrowers at unreasonably high interest rates. Such lenders usually trap destitute borrowers who are desperate for immediate cash. They make profits out of exorbitant rates over long terms, alongside unethical vehicles of debt recovery if payment is late.
They operate in the shadows and are unauthorised, unregulated and illegal business entities or individuals. Many of them work as a part of organised crime groups with links to their home countries, according to police sources.
A total of six cases have been reported as suspected suicides in Bahrain this year, of which four died in March.
The GDN reported last week that Arjunkumar Babajilingam, 22, was discovered hanged from a tree near his Sanad housing block on October 9. On the same day, Vishnudas Vasu, 27, of Kerala’s Palakkad, died which authorities believe was another case of suicide, while an unidentified woman reportedly committed suicide in Bahrain on October 17.
Indians Sreejith Thekkayil, 35, Sunil Kumar, 39, Parminder Singh, 24 and Pakistan national Muhammed Wakeel, 27, were found hanged from ceiling fans in their residences between March 17 and 21. Indian Anoopkumar Menon was also found hanged at his residence on August 29, while police said they were also investigating the cause of the death of an Indian teenager in June.
raji@gdnmedia.bh
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