Soaring debts had crushed Amal Krishna (35), a resident of Tholicode in Thiruvananthapuram, who died by suicide on Friday morning. Such was his state of despair that he wrote a suicide note and died on the day of his six-month-old son’s naming ceremony. His final post on social media read, "I quit, I am done, goodbye". 

A tile worker by profession and a sports enthusiast, Amal was part of a group of six friends who started the turf business during the COVID-19 pandemic. The turf began as a dream born out of a sense of community and love for the game. But financial stress from mounting loan dues pushed him to suicide.

Around 9 am, Amal was found hanging from an iron rod on the roof of the kitchen in his office building, located beside the turf. The Vithura Police recovered a suicide note that said he took the extreme step because he was unable to repay the loans he had taken. 

According to Harilal, Amal’s close friend and business partner, the group set up the turf in 2020. “I am a contract worker. Amal does tile work. Such is the nature of all of our jobs. During COVID, when everything shut down, we decided to start a turf. It became our escape from routine life,” he said. “The turf had been running fairly well, and we were paying back the business loan in instalments. There was a brief lull because of competition, but it was not in loss.”

Harilal recalled that Amal had been troubled after bank officials visited his house a few days ago over missed payments on a housing loan he had taken years before starting the turf. “That shook him. He might have missed only two or three instalments. But he was very distressed after that visit,” he said.

On Friday morning, Amal spoke to Harilal around 8 am, saying he was heading to work. “I talked to him and assured him that we will find a solution. A few of our other friends talked to him as well. An hour later, I noticed his scooter was parked unusually deep inside the turf compound. When I went in, the door was unlocked and I found him hanging,” Harilal said. "By that time, people who saw his Facebook post, including his wife, Vineetha, were calling him trying to locate him," he added.

Thottumukku ward member Ansar said that Amal had been facing severe financial pressure. “The Kerala Bank officials had warned him that his property could be seized due to non-payment of dues."

Amal is survived by his wife, Vineetha, and two sons.