AIDS patient commits self-immolation in Bihar

Bombay News.Net
Thursday 2nd July, 2009 (IANS)

A man in Bihar's Gaya district, diagnosed with AIDS, committed self-immolation to get rid of daily pain and suffering, police said Thursday.

Satyendra Malakar, 35, a resident of Barora village, 100 km from here, committed suicide late Wednesday night.

Malakar's family members told police that he was depressed for the past few days. He was suffering from high fever, cough and weakness and had become so weak that he could not walk properly.

'Malakar was depressed after being diagnosed with AIDS. He committed suicide by setting himself ablaze at his residence,' Guraru police station chief Shiv Shankar Prasad Verma told IANS by phone.

Verma said that Malakar's wife Munni Devi, in her late 20s, and her three children were also diagnosed as being HIV positive.

'Malakar's entire family was victim of HIV positive and was fighting for survival,' Verma said.

All four were being treated at a government hospital, he added. Malakar had migrated to Gujarat in search of livelihood a decade ago.

'He was infected with HIV during his stay in Gujarat,' Verma said.

A few months ago, he had consulted doctors at Patna Medical College and Hospital and was told that he had very few days left to live.

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