West Bengal: Businessman commits suicide, blames GST

A businessman from the Naryanpur​ in Birbhum district of West Bengal area reportedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide on Monday. 44-year-old Pinaki Dutta, who owned a grocery store, was extremely dejected by the passing of GST bill and was reportedly unable to cope with calculations dealing with the new tax regime.

Since he didn’t have a GST number suppliers reportedly were not giving him merchandise and he was having trouble making ends meet.

One of his neighbours told DNA: “He used to discuss with us every now and then about the calculations and complexities of GST and used to say that he would have to shell out a lot of money to get his business GST compatible. We kept on telling him that he should consult a lawyer and the problem would be solved.”

His body was recovered on Monday afternoon from the godown adjacent to his shop and there was a suicide note in his pocket, the police said. When he didn’t return home for lunch on Monday, his wife came looking for him to found him inside the godown.

The suicide note has been seized by police. An official of Rampurhat PS said that the suicide note said ‘My business is on the verge of closure owing to GST implementation. I will be reduced to nothing if I have to shut my business. Only GST is responsible for my death’.  “The body has been sent for a postmortem and an investigation into the matter has been initiated,” said a senior police official of the district.

Dutta has been survived by his wife and two children – a daughter who is a Class III student and a son who studies in Class II.