Three sui**des reported in Namchi district on same day

In Namchi district suicides of three individuals were reported on January 29th, 2025. Local police are investigating the separate incidents, which occurred in the Melli and Tarku areas. The first incident came to light at around 6:23 PM when Anil Sharma, a resident of Lower Paiyong, Melli, filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the Melli Police Station. Mr. Sharma reported that his neighbor, 27-year-old Purna Lall Sharma, son of Tika Ram Sharma, had taken his own life by hanging himself from the ceiling fan in his home at Lower Paiyong at approximately 3:00 PM that afternoon. Melli Police subsequently registered a case (UD Case No. 01/2025) under Section 194 of the BNSS, 2023, and initiated an investigation. Police officers visited the scene, located about five kilometers north of the Melli Police Station. They confirmed the details of the report, finding Purna Lall Sharma deceased, hanging by a bedsheet from the ceiling fan. Photographs were taken, and a sketch of the scene was drawn. Following a request to the District Magistrate of Namchi, the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Sumbuk, Mr. L.B. Pradhan, conducted a magisterial inquest in the presence of witnesses, as per notification no. 15/Home 2024, dated March 2, 2024. The inquest found no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. The body was then sent to the District Hospital in Namchi for a post-mortem examination. The investigation is ongoing. Later that evening, at approximately 10:24 PM, Melli Police received a second FIR. Sujal Rai, a resident of Mazigoan, Melli, reported that his sister, Pratima Rai, had also died by suicide earlier that day, between 5:00 and 6:00 PM. She was found hanging by a chunni (a type of scarf) inside the family bathroom. Police registered a second case (UD Case No. 02/2025) under Section 194 of the BNSS, 2023. The investigative process mirrored the first incident: the scene was visited, photographed, and sketched; a magisterial inquest was conducted by BDO Pradhan, again finding no evidence of foul play; and the body was sent for post-mortem. This case is also still under investigation. In a separate incident on the same day, police in Tarku, near Namchi, received a report of a suicide. Krishna Kumar, the Ward Panchayat of Tarku Tanak, informed authorities that Nirmala Basnett, a 45-year-old woman residing in Lower Tarku, Kamargoan, had reportedly taken her life. Mr. Kumar stated that he went to the Basnett residence and found her deceased, having hung herself inside the house. Preliminary investigations revealed that Mrs. Basnett had been unwell and had recently been discharged from Namchi hospital after a five-day stay for piles. Police have registered a case (UD Case No. 01/2025, dated January 29, 2025, under Section 195 of the BNSS, 2023) and are continuing their inquiries. The place of occurrence is Tarku Tanak, Ward No. 3. Local police in Namchi and Temi reported issuing three traffic challans each under the C.M.V. Act, 1988. These traffic violations, however, are unrelated to the suicide incidents.