INDIA: 82-Year Old Resident in Old Age Home Near Kolkata Kills Himself

. MALDA, West Bengal (The Statesman), September 17, 2008: Nirmal Haldar (82), an inmate of an NGO run old-age home, located at Bachamari Colony in Malda police station, committed suicide by hanging himself today. The man a resident of Old Malda village was suffering from depression, said police and social welfare officers after the primary investigation. The body was sent for post mortem. Mr Ratan Sarkar, who runs the old age home, confessed before the district welfare officers that he would not be able to run the home without financial assistance. Expressing his inability, Mr Sarkar said: “I want to give up my responsibility of this home,” he told the officers during their visit. The old age home residents, it was learnt, are not happy due to a fund crunch. Despite several reminders and recommendation by the state welfare department, the Central social justice and empowerment department has not sent funds for the home since 2000, alleged the district welfare officers. The Malda district magistrate Mr C R Das instructed the welfare officers to shift other inmates from the home. The social welfare department has planned to shift the only two women inmates of the home to another sanitarium at Chanchal. Stateman News Service