99 defence personnel committed suicide this year

NEW DELHI: A total of 99 suicide cases have been reported from the armed forces this year besides three cases of fratricide, the government said today.

The data submitted by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Lok Sabha show that Army reported the highest number of suicides with 76 cases this year, followed by Air Force with 23 of its personnel committing suicide.

While Army reported two cases of fratricide this year, Air Force witnessed one such incident.

The Army, which is the largest of the three Defence Services, has topped the list of suicide cases since 2011 though the number has come down. While there were 105 cases of suicides recorded by Army in 2011, it came down to 95 in 2012 and 86 in 2013.

Parrikar said the reason for such incidents include "occupational hazards (long tenures of continuous deployment), family issues, domestic problems, marital discord, perceived grievances, personal issues, mental built, financial problems and inability to withstand stress."

Giving details of the measures taken by the government to prevent such incidents, he said some of them include improvement in living and working conditions, additional family accommodation, liberalised leave policy, provision of psychological counseling and conduct of yoga and meditation as part of unit routine.