Indore: As frustration continued to pile up over his inability to land a job or even run a small-time business post demonetisation, GST and plastic ban, Vijay Jhala of Pardesipura decided that enough was enough. So on Friday, he gulped a few pegs to ensure that courage did not desert him. He went to the zoo, bought a ticket and headed straight to tiger’s cage.
At the cage, he tried to scale the fence to jump before the tiger. However, alert zoo employees thwarted his adventurous suicide bid. They not only stopped him but also brought him down.
City zoo in-charge Dr Uttam Yadav said, “Around 12:45 pm, zoo officials noticed a man trying to climb the fence of tiger enclosure.” They along with rescue team comprising Wajid, Ramesh, Santosh and Dharmendra, rushed to the spot and pulled down the man. The police were also informed.
Later, a case under Section 38J of Wildlife Protection Act 1972 was registered against him. Sanyogitaganj TI Narendra Singh Raghuvanshi told Free Press, “A case of suicide bid will be registered only on zoo authorities’ complaint.”
When zoo officials inquired about his daredevil act, Jhala replied innocently, “I am an animal lover. I failed to provide a full meal to my family, so decided that my death should provide a full meal at least to an animal.”
“I had even enrolled in employment exchange way back in 1984, but never got a call,” he said.
Shocked, zoo officials tried to talk sense with him. Narrating his pain, Jhala said that he had a job in 2016 and earned Rs 6,000 per month. The struggle began after he lost it. During Simhastha in April-May 2016, he started a small business kiosk selling biscuits, serving tea and water.
“Demonetisation changed it all. People thought twice before paying in cash. As a result my sales started dwindling,” he said. However, he didn’t lose hope and continued to accept lower profits and somehow managed to survive. Just as his business started picking up, came the GST. It was a major hit. Besides, expense of managing the new system ensured death of many small businesses like him.
He struggled to earn his bread. He could not find a way out. Debt continued to rise and so the losses. His inability to fulfil the needs of his family hurt him like anything. As depression crept in, he decided that the only way to escape this was to jump into a tiger’s cage.
Blast from past
March 28, 2015: Rahul Binodia of Triveni Nagar jumped into 8ft deep buffer zone at 5pm, an-hour-and-half before zoo closes for visitors. He tried to make his way into main enclosure, through an 18ft deep moat and double-meshed protective zone, but zoo guards, gardeners, photographers and visitors managed to catch hold of him.
January 4, 2018: A mentally unstable man jumped into lions’ enclosure and roamed about for a bit before being rescued. Kailash Verma, climbed steel pipes near lions’ enclosure, scaled the wired fencing and jumped 18-feet inside the den.
Across the nation
Oct 17, 2019: A man from Bihar jumped into lion’s enclosure in Delhi zoo but escaped unhurt as alert zoo staff acted quickly and tranquilized the animal.
Sept 7, 2019: A 30-year-old unemployed man attempted suicide by trying to enter lion’s enclosure at National Zoological Park in central Delhi’s Pragati Maidan before being intercepted and rescued.
Jan 20, 2019: A man was mauled to death by lions at Chhatbir Zoo in Zirakpur near Chandigarh. The man entered the enclosure by scaling an over-25-feet wall. As soon as he crossed over, he was attacked by two lions.
Feb 21, 2018: A 33-year-old youth was rescued from a lioness' jaws by Thiruvananthpuram Zoo guards when he jumped over the walls of the cage.
