More paramilitary personnel committed suicide than were killed on duty in the last six years, the Union home ministry told a parliamentary panel, PTI reported on Thursday. “During the last six years, about 700 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces have committed suicide and the rate of voluntary retirement is approximately 9,000 personnel per year,” the ministry said.
Going further back, the home ministry said 189 CRPF jawans have committed suicide since 2012 while 175 have been killed in action during the same period. The ministry also said that 529 Border Security Force personnel have taken their lives since 2001 while 491 have been killed on duty.
The trend of high suicide rates has also been noticed in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police force, the Central Industrial Security Force and the Sashastra Seema Bal, the ministry said.
The ministry submitted its report to the Parliamentary Committee on Estimates, headed by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
Senior officials of the ministry cited “lack of stability, loneliness and domestic strife” as the main reasons for suicide. “People stay away from their homes for 10 to 11 months, which obviously leads to marital discord and there will be suspicions and counter-suspicions and allegations. That also leads to suicide,” said Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, according to PTI.
The ministry added that the personnel faced tremendous work pressure and were often not granted leave. CRPF, BSF and ITBP jawans are often asked to travel from Assam to Kerala and from Kerala to Kashmir, the ministry said. “They do not stay at one location and do not have any headquarters at a fixed location,” the home secretary said. “Perhaps, this disturbance is also a contributing factor in incidents of suicides.”
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