Financial woes drive shopkeeper to suicide in Himachal's Kullu

Worried over the repayment of his debt and a fall in earnings due to coronavirus crisis, a 36-year-old shopkeeper allegedly committed suicide in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, police said on Thursday. He had taken loans from a bank and a person, the SP said, adding that Sharma was under stress as he shop remained closed due to the coronavirus crisis.

Worried over the repayment of his debt and a fall in earnings due to coronavirus crisis, a 36-year-old shopkeeper allegedly committed suicide in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, police said on Thursday. Hitesh Sharma originally belonged to Mandi’s Bharwari and was running a cloth shop in Kullu’s Bhuntar, SP Gaurav Singh said.

Sharma hanged himself from a ceiling fan at his rented accommodation in Bhuntar on Wednesday night, he added. He had taken loans from a bank and a person, the SP said, adding that Sharma was under stress as he shop remained closed due to the coronavirus crisis. He is survived by his nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter, the SP said. The body was handed over to the deceased's brother after autopsy at the Kullu Regional Hospital.