Wife’s unpaid salary, son’s education cost drive Pathanamthitta man to suicide
The man took his life after struggling to afford his son's engineering college fees, exacerbated by his wife's unpaid salary from the education department.
The man took his life after struggling to afford his son's engineering college fees, exacerbated by his wife's unpaid salary from the education department.
The man took his life after struggling to afford his son's engineering college fees, exacerbated by his wife's unpaid salary from the education department.
Ranni: A 47-year-old man from Pathanamthitta was found hanging in a forest at Moongampara on Sunday evening after allegedly struggling to arrange funds for his son's engineering admission.
According to relatives, the deceased, VT Shijo, was under severe financial stress after his son secured a seat at an engineering college in Erode, Tamil Nadu. His wife, Lekha Raveendran, worked as a teacher at an aided school in Naranammoozhy, near Ranni in Pathanamthitta, for 12 years. However, she was not paid all these years following the alleged stubborn attitude of officials at the District Education Office (DEO).
Even after the High Court ruled in Lekha's favour for her pending salary, DEO staff did not process the payment. She raised the issue multiple times with the General Education Minister, but no action was taken.
Meanwhile, the management of Lekha's school also contacted the DEO for follow-up, but to no avail. Relatives said Shijo was in a financial crisis when his son secured admission and blamed the General Education Department for his death. Shijo's father, Thyagarajan, is a member of the Karshaka Sangham's Pathanamthitta district committee.