Lucknow, Oct 10 (IANS): In a shocking incident, two employees of a city-based hotel committed suicide within an interval of six hours on Saturday.
The deceased include the manager and a waiter of the government owned hotel.
While the reason for the waiter's suicide could not be ascertained, the in-charge in a handwritten note to the principal secretary, home, and Lucknow Police commissioner, claimed that he was being trapped in a conspiracy by his colleagues which could have landed him in jail.
Ashok Pathak, 52, of Indira Nagar, who worked as a bar in charge in a hotel run by the tourism department, shot himself on Saturday afternoon after he came to know that Suresh Kumar Pal, a waiter employed in his hotel, had committed suicide earlier in the morning.
Ashok's wife, Mamta Pandey, is a teacher at a girls' college in Lucknow while his son, Shashank, who is an engineer, was married recently.
Ashok's daughter-in-law and his sister were present in the house when he shot himself from his .32 bore licensed revolver. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), North, Prachi Singh said, "Before taking the extreme step, Pathak jotted down two suicide notes -- one addressed to the principal secretary, home, and the other to the Lucknow Police commissioner -- and asked his family not to accept any claim from the department where he worked. The note reflected the deep hatred he had for the organisation where he worked."
About the suicide by waiter Suresh Kumar, the ADCP said Pathak had mentioned Suresh's name in the suicide note.
"Pathak was apprehensive that Suresh might have mentioned his name in his suicide note. When we crosschecked, we found that Suresh had not left behind any suicide note," she said.
The ACDP added that further investigations were on.
Pathak's wife alleged that her husband was under pressure. "He was not allowed leaves and weekly offs," she said, adding that Pathak's seniors harassed him so much that he ended his life.