Demonetisation: Bizman kills self after failing to pay workers

Kolkata: A middle-aged businessman committed suicide by sliting his throat at his home in Howrah, early on Saturday morning, allegedly after he failed to pay wages in the wake of the cash crunch due to demonetisation.

At around 5.30 am, Debashish Bhakta (44) slit his throat with a kitchen knife at his residence at Ramkrishna Acharya Lane in Salkia, according to preliminary investigations.

His family members who were asleep in other rooms woke up to his screams and found him wrihting in pain. They rushed him to Howrah District Hospital where he was declared brought dead. The body was sent for post-mortem.

However, no suicide note was found at his residence. Bhakta owned a brick-kiln at Kulti in Howrah where at least 150 labourers work on weekly wages, his neighbours said.

His family alleged that post demonetisation, his brick-kiln business was being affected because he was unable to pay the labourers due to the cash crunch. Bhakta was suffering from depression for the past couple of days.

Later, Trinamul Congress councillor of ward no 10 of the Howrah Municipal Corporation Manjit Rapheal visited Bhakta’s family. She blamed the demonetisation for his suicide.