A woman in China died by suicide after her family forced her into an engagement with a blind date.  According to the South China Morning Post, the 19-year-old named Tongtong was pressured into getting engaged to a man she had only met five days before. 

Notably, the teen ran a small clothes shop with her mother in their hometown. Her mother thought the groom’s better-off financial situation would ”make her life easier”. Though Tongtong felt reluctant when the man proposed, her mother and a matchmaker persuaded her to accept.

At the engagement ceremony, the man’s family gave Tongtong’s mother 270,000 yuan (Rs 33,40,730) bride’s price. However, she did not like the man as he was rude and demanding. She even tried to break off the engagement but the matchmaker convinced her not to do so citing her mother’s financial constraints. 

However, 17 days after the engagement, she took a drastic decision and threw herself into the river near her home. After her death, her fiancé demanded her mother return the bride price.

The girl’s greedy mother gave him 180,000 yuan but refused to return the full amount because the man lied about his age. 

But the man’s family remained adamant and demanded the money. They blocked her shopfront with a car and played messages in a loop over a loudspeaker, demanding the bride’s price. 

Meanwhile, the teen’s mother, matchmaker and the man all blamed each other for Tongtong’s death.

The tragic story has sparked outrage on social media in China and ignited a debate about marriage and women’s rights. One user wrote on Weibo, ”This is such a horror story. The girl is a daughter, a wife-to-be, a good financial resource, but never herself.”

Forced marriages are common in China, especially in underdeveloped areas. In urban areas, unmarried women aged over 30 are usually stigmatised as ”leftover women” and face pressure from parents to get married. 

A popular travel influencer and YouTuber has been found dead at his home just hours after he was arrested as part of a child pornography probe in Argentina. According to the New York Post, Leonel Esteban Borroni’s body was found by a relative at his home on the outskirts of Buenos Aires on May 17. He was found hanging from a skylight with his hands and legs bound with plastic ties. Police suspect that he took his own life, but are awaiting autopsy results.

The travel influencer was known by his social media username “Un Leon Viajero” which means “A Lion Traveller” in English. He had 164,000 followers on Instagram where he posted photos of motorbike trips to places like Ecuador, Venezuela and French Guiana.

Notably, he had been arrested following the alleged discovery of child pornography on his electronic devices. He was released on bail just hours after appearing before a judge as part of an ongoing investigation into human trafficking and sexual abuse. 

The influencer is believed to have refused to answer questions about the child porn allegedly found.

The case came to light after the Argentinian authorities received a tip-off from a US-based agency specialising in combating child exploitation. Another five men and a woman, aged between 20 and 50, have also been implicated in the investigation.

His last post on Instagram was two weeks ago when he shared a picture of himself on the back of a motorbike and bid “goodbye” to some of his followers. He wrote, “What a beautiful moment I am living Laions, saying goodbye to some social media and entering others.”

He’d earlier posted: “In these eight years of touring places I never thought I would reach I achieved my travelling goal, I am happy for all that I could shoot, and above all for having health and support of the Laions, I hope the universe helps me to enjoy it all I walked from another place with more comfort, I deserve it. Thank you.”

John Barnett, a whistleblower who had raised concerns about safety and production standards at Boeing, has died by suicide, the police said. 

The 62-year-old was found dead inside his truck on March 9, in South Carolina, US, reported CNN.

Initial investigations into his death were underway, but they have since been halted, the report added.

Mr Barnett was scheduled to testify against Boeing (an Aerospace company) in a legal case, alleging illegal retaliation by the company, the report mentioned.

However, when he failed to show up at a court deposition, police officers conducted a welfare check and found his body on the driver’s seat of the truck. The gunshot wound to the head indicated that Mr Barnett died by suicide, the report said.

People, investigating the crime scene, found a gun in Mr Barnett’s right hand. They also spotted gunshot residue on his hand and a  single shell casing inside the truck, the report mentioned.

Further examination revealed a single shell casing inside the truck and a suicide note left on the passenger seat. These findings confirmed Mr Barnett’s death as a suicide. 

A report from the Charleston County Coroner stated that “all findings were consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound” with the coroner concluding that the manner of death is “best deemed as suicide.” 

There was reportedly also a suicide note which had his fingerprints. The note read, “I can’t do this any longer. Enough. F*** Boeing. I found my purpose. I am at peace” adding an “I love you all” to his friends and family, as per the NY Post.

The police revealed that he was alone and locked inside his vehicle when they found him. CCTV footage from the hotel showed him leaving alone and reversing into a parking spot a few minutes later. No one was seen approaching or leaving the truck until the grim discovery the following morning. Investigations into his phone records also did not reveal any signs of unusual travel patterns or communications.

John Barnett worked at Boeing for more than 30 years, retiring in 2017 as a quality control engineer. He spoke out to the BBC in 2019, stating worries about Boeing rushing the production of its 787 Dreamliner jets, which he believed was risking safety. Mr Barnett then sued Boeing, claiming they had spied on him, retaliated against him and harassed him. 

Mr Barnett’s lawyers said, “We didn’t see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it.”

Nashik, Maharashtra:

A 30-year-old woman died by suicide in Maharashtra’s Nashik city on Wednesday, while her two children were found dead in her home, an official said.

Police suspect Ashwini Nikumbh, who left behind a video message blaming her husband, poisoned her children Aaradhya (8) and Agastya (2) before taking her life.

Around 7 am, Ashwini jumped from the terrace of Hari Vandan Apartment in the Konark Nagar area of the city.

After being alerted by other residents, the police reached the spot and found her two children dead in her home. Her husband was out of the station at the time.

The police have recovered a hand-written note, purportedly written by Ashwini, blaming her husband Swapnil for torturing her. Before killing herself, she also recorded a video message accusing Swapni of pushing her to take the extreme step and shared the clip with their relatives, an official said.

Swapnil, who was in Pune for work, has been called to join the probe, the official said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In a tragic incident, a 32-year-old woman named Savannah Kriger from Texas instructed her 3-year-old son to bid farewell to his father while filming him shortly before she shot the child and then herself, according to The New York Post. The devastating event took place on March 19 at a park in San Antonio. Kriger and her son, Kaiden, were discovered dead with gunshot wounds to their heads.

Authorities have been investigating the circumstances surrounding the murder-suicide for several weeks. Prior to the incident, Kriger engaged in disturbing behaviour, including shooting at her wedding photos, vandalising her ex-husband’s residence, and sending him threatening FaceTime videos and texts.

According to The NY Post, the sequence of events began when Kriger left work on the afternoon of March 18 and proceeded directly to her ex-husband’s home while he was away at work. Following the damage inflicted at her ex-husband’s residence, Kriger returned to her own home, where investigators later found her wedding attire and portraits arranged on the bed. According to Sheriff Javier Salazar of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, it is believed that Kriger discharged two rounds into her wedding portraits.

“You don’t have anything to go home to now. You really don’t,” Kriger said on one FaceTime call. “You won’t have anything at all at the end of the day.”

The final text to her ex read, “Say goodbye to your son.”

A 21-second video recovered from her phone showed Kriger and her son sitting in the ditch in the park, where their bodies would later be discovered.

New Delhi:

Two bodies, including of a woman were found inside a hotel room near Maujpur Metro Station under Jafrabad Police Station limits in the National Capital, police said late Friday.

Police claimed they also found a “suicide note” on the spot.

“Sohrab was found hanging from the ceiling fan with a nylon rope. Ayesha was found lying dead on the bed. There are some ligature marks on her neck,” said DCP (North East) Joy Tirkey.

DCP Tirkey further claimed that a half-page handwritten (in Hindi) “suicide note” was found lying on the bed next to Ayesha.

“It appears that both were in love and had decided to end their lives together,” DCP Tirkey said.

Police said they received a call about the incident on Friday at 8: 05 pm.

The deceased has been identified as Sohrab (28), a resident of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh and Ayesha (27), a resident of Loni, UP. She is survived by a 9-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl. Mohd Gulfam (28), the husband of the deceased woman sells gym protein supplements.

During the inquiry, police said it came to light that Sohrab and Ayesha had checked in at a hotel at 1:02 pm and “had booked the room for 4 hours”.

“When they did not come out, the hotel staff knocked on the door at about 7:45 pm. There was no response so they called the Beat Constable. The room was opened in the presence of the police,” the official said.

The Crime Team and FSL Team have reached the spot to collect the evidence. CCTV footage of the reception and staircase is being examined. Ayesha’s husband is being examined, as per police.

“Further action will be taken after the post-mortem examination on Saturday,” he said, adding that efforts are being made to get in touch with the family members of Sohrab (deceased).

“Further investigation is in progress,” the official said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

 A 55-year-old Delhi police official, Anil Sisodiya died after he allegedly shot himself at his residence in South-East Delhi, said the police on Wednesday.

The incident took place in the Jangpura area of South East Delhi, the police added.

Anil Sisodiya was posted as Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in the South-West zone of Delhi.

“A 55-year-old ACP of Delhi Police, identified as Anil Sisodia, allegedly died by suicide by shooting himself at his residence in Jangpura. His wife passed away three days back”, the Delhi police said.

Meanwhile, a probe is underway into the matter, it added.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi Police on Friday rescued a man who was trying to commit suicide on Instagram Live over a matrimonial dispute. Prompt action from police saved his life, an official said.

On September 22, Delhi Police received a call from an unknown person saying that his younger brother who used to live alone was committing suicide posting the scenario live on Instagram. He further added that he needed instant help.

The person injured himself severely with blades due to which he was immediately shifted to hospital by police, added the police.

Upon tracing the call location and obtaining technical details, the team reached on the spot Chhota Thakur Dwara, Shahdara, Delhi, and the person (28) was promptly rescued. The man injured himself using blades and he was immediately taken to hospital.

“The man is involved in a matrimonial dispute and has two children. Further legal proceedings are underway,” the official added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Cases of death by suicide among Indian men have grown over one-third in the past seven years, claimed a report by The Lancet Regional Health. In 2014, 89,129 men died by suicide as against 42,521 women. The ratio rose to 2.64 times in 2021. This year, 1,18,979 males died by suicide against 45,026 females.

The situation was even more concerning among married men. In 2021, married men recorded triple the suicide death rate — deaths per one lakh people– of 24.3 compared to women where this figure was 8.4.

The study on changing patterns of suicide in India pointed out that family problems and health issues were two major factors behind the rising vulnerability of Indian men to suicide.  Low suicide among women might indicate better coping mechanisms for dealing with stress.

 “Owing to these two reasons, the male-to-female ratio of suicides has increased from 1.9 and 2.5 to 2.4 and 3.2, respectively, during 2014–2021. There was a 107.5% increase in citing family problems as a reason among men during 2014–2021, approximately two-fold of that in women,” the report said.

The findings of the study are based on data from the National Crime Records Bureau.

The suicide death rate remained the highest — 27.2 — among men between the age group of 30-44 years. The SDR spiked nearly 5 points from 22.7 in 2014 to 27.2 in 2021. Between the age group of 18-29 years, the suicide rate saw a steeper rise of 5.6 points from 20 in 2014 to 25.6 in 2021. 

Overall, the cases of suicide death among Indian men between 2014 to 2021 grew by 33.5 per cent compared to women where the change was 5.89 per cent.

Among social groups, daily wage workers were at a greater risk of death by suicide. The instances of suicide had nearly tripled between 2014 and 2021. From 13,944 in 2014, cases of death by suicide rose to 37, 751 in 2021 among men involved in daily wage work. In women, the number showed a similar alarming trend– rising from 1,791 in 2014 to 4,246 in 2021.

The report further revealed unemployed men and women both had a high SDR of 48.2 and 27.8, respectively, in 2021.