Man dies by suicide; family alleges exorbitant electricity bills as its cause

A 25-year-old man, allegedly under stress due to exorbitant electricity bills, died by suicide, his family claimed.

Local police said Shubham (25) died by suicide by hanging himself from a hook inside his room at his house at Kushalpur village under the Achalganj police station area during the wee hours of Wednesday. The family found his body in the morning and informed police.

"We first got an electricity bill of Rs 1,09,021. He went to different offices and paid Rs 16,377. Not even a fortnight had passed and we have now again got a bill of Rs 8,000. He hanged himself following this tension," said the deceased's father Mahadev, adding that Shubham was a daily wager.

"There is no other reason. He was living from hand to mouth, how would he have paid the bill? He was very tense due to the amount of the electricity bill," Mahadev said.

Chief Engineer Electricity, Raebareli Zone, RP Prasad, said Shubham had taken a new electricity connection on March 10, 2022. "After the connection, Shubham paid electricity bill twice. He once paid Rs 615 and then Rs 16,377 in September this year.

"A few days ago, a bill for 1,500 units was generated, while the consumption was shown for just 35 units. In this context, the metre reader told Shubham to visit the electricity department's office and get the bill rectified," he added.

The officer claimed the bill was rectified on October 9 but Shubham had taken the extreme step by then.

Energy Minister AK Sharma took to social media to express his concern over the matter and announced immediate action against the officials concerned.

"Police and administration are conducting a detailed investigation into the causes of the death. But since the matter is related to the electricity department, and in view of the primary possibility, I immediately ordered strict action against the local electricity officials," Sharma posted on 'X' in Hindi on Thursday.

The minister in the same post said Ravi Yadav, Sub-divisional Officer, Electricity Distribution Sub-division Banthar; Ashish Singh, Junior Engineer, 33/11 KV Sub-centre, Achalganj; and Surya Kumar Verma, Executive Engineer, Electricity Distribution Division II, Unnao; have been suspended and FIRs lodged against them.

However, SHO Rajeshwar Tripathi said local police were yet to register an FIR. The post-mortem has been conducted, and further investigations are ongoing, police said.