Man commits suicide with daughter

Financial burdens reportedly pushed the father over the edge

MUZAFFARGARH:

A man committed suicide by allegedly throwing himself and his minor daughter into the Abu Dhabi canal on Thursday. A rescue team started an operation to search for the victims’ bodies.

Sources said that Muhammad Salim, a 53-year-old resident of Ahmedpur Sharqia, had a quarrel at home with his wife over poverty and financial issues. He took his 4-year-old daughter to the canal, before binding her to his body and jumping in the water channel.

A family photo and a visiting card belonging to the victim were found in the clothes found at the bank of the canal. According to eyewitnesses, the man had asked an onlooker to call his sister's before the incident, however the given number could not be contacted.

A Rescue 1122 team reached the spot immediately upon receiving reports of the incident and started the search operation, while the family members of the deceased are also being contacted.

Individuals under financial strain are increasingly turning to suicide as an option, sometimes opting to kill their family members along with themselves. Such was an incident in January of this year, where a man allegedly tried to poison his three daughters before trying to kill himself.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2023.