BHOPAL: Hurt by accusations of Rs 40,000 theft by fellow trainees and seniors, a 17-year-old shotgun shooter shot himself to death inside the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy premises in Bhopal.
The incident which happened on Sunday evening, came to the fore late in the night, has led the local police to register an inquest into the suicide and start recording statements of other trainees and staff of the academy.
Confirming the incident, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) in Bhopal, Priyanka Shukla said, “The teenage shooter who was enrolled at the academy for the last two years, shot self in the academy’s lounge (with the shotgun allotted to him for practice) at around 5 pm.”
“Analysis of the CCTV grabs retrieved from the shooting academy, showed the teenager using his shotgun to shoot self in the chest to commit suicide. The grabs show the teenager alone, putting the barrel of the shotgun on his chest and later pulling the trigger with his leg,” the DCP added.
Primary investigations have revealed that Yatharth, who hailed from Ashok Naar district of MP, was hurt owing to accusations being levelled against him by some fellow trainees and seniors about the theft of Rs 40,000 belonging to another trainee shooter enrolled at the same academy.
“He was messaging his friends and relatives since 8 am on Sunday about being hurt by the accusations. He even tried to contact his father in the matter a few hours later at around 11 am. His messages were suggestive of suicidal intentions. Coming to know about the matter, his coach too had telephoned his father in Ashok Nagar district, who immediately left for Bhopal, but by the time he reached Bhopal, the teenager had killed himself using the shotgun he used in the training,” Shukla said.
“We’ve lodged an inquest into the matter and started recording the statements of the deceased teenager’s kin, fellow trainees and staff and management of the shooting academy,” the DCP informed.
The shocking incident, however, has left many questions unanswered, particularly why the academy staff and management didn’t act in time, particularly by counselling him professionally after coming to know that he was deeply hurt by the accusations of theft by fellow trainees.
Importantly, the deceased teenager’s father too is reportedly a sports officer posted in Ashok Nagar district, which is around 180 km from the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050, Tele Manas – 14416 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
