Jayalalithaa's conviction: 16 persons commit suicide

CHENNAI: At least 16 persons are believed to have committed suicide either by setting themselves ablaze or by hanging since Saturday when AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa was sentenced to a four-year jail term in the disproportionate assets case by a Special Court in Bangalore.

Police said while a AIADMK worker S Venkatesan (65) died in hospital after he set himself ablaze by pouring kerosene, three others hanged themselves while another jumped before a speeding bus.

Ten persons are believed to have suffered cardiac arrest, apparently unable to come to terms with the verdict, while one person died of shock, they said.

Those who allegedly committed suicide also included two Class XII students who set themselves ablaze in Tiruppur.

Police were tight-lipped on the number of such incidents across the state and claimed that some could be due to personal problems.