South 24 Parganas, 6 July (H.S.): Driven by severe financial distress and hunger an elderly couple attempted suicide by consuming poison at Baruipur railway station on Saturday night, . The incident has sparked shock and concern in the area.

As per information, 70-year-old Sannyasi Karmakar and his 65-year-old wife Jharna Karmakar, residents of Diamond Harbour, had been grappling with economic hardship for a long time. The couple has no children and lives alone. Sannyasi Karmakar previously worked in a fan manufacturing factory, but lost his job during the COVID-19 lockdown. Since then, their financial condition had worsened significantly, to the point where arranging two meals a day had become a struggle.

In desperation, the couple boarded a train from Diamond Harbour on Saturday morning and reached Baruipur station. They sat on platform number four for most of the day. By evening, they left the station, bought poison near the nearby railway gate and consumed it. They then returned to the platform and collapsed.

Fellow passengers noticed them in distress and alerted the Government Railway Police. The police rushed the couple to a local hospital. Hospital sources said that while Sannyasi Karmakar’s condition is stable, Jharna Karmakar remains in critical condition under intensive medical care.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Sannyasi Karmakar said, “I lost my job. We had no money, and even food became difficult to afford. There is no one else at home. That’s why we took this step.”

The police have kept the couple under observation at the hospital.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey