A Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) member allegedly killed himself with his own gun on Friday night apparently having failed to endure acute poverty.

“Too tired of fighting with poverty for the past seven years; need some rest now,” the BGB man said in his Facebook handle barely an hour before taking his life.

Sohrab Hossain Chowdhury, 23, hailing from Parshuram upazila in Feni district, killed himself at 39 BGB battalion camp in Khagdahor area in Mymensingh, said assistant director of the battalion Yunus Ali on Saturday.

Around 8:03 pm on Friday, he posted the suicide note on social media about his job dissatisfaction and urged all to forgive him.

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Sohrab narrated how “shamefully” he had to borrow money from his uncle for his mother’s treatment last month as he could not afford it with his small amount of salary.

“Didn’t get any chance to do anything for my physically- challenged younger brother,” he wrote.

“Amid the situation, people ask me why I’m not getting married.  I never thought of getting married; only wanted to live a decent life somehow, but that has not been possible.”

”I’m too tired after fighting with mental pressure and poverty for the last seven years. Now I need some rest,” he wrote adding, “I seek pardon from my family, seniors, juniors and friends for this heinous act. But I had no other alternative.”  

Bangladesh reports 70% more deaths from suicide than Covid-19, according to a recent study by Aachol Foundation published on March 14, this year.

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Poverty in Bangladesh

The percentage of the population living below the poverty line (upper poverty line) in Bangladesh has nearly doubled from 21.6% in 2018 to 42% in 2020, while the percentage of extreme poor (lower poverty line) trebled from 9.4% in 2018 to 28.5% in 2020, according to South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM).

The poverty rate has increased in both urban and rural areas in Bangladesh. The percentage of the population below the poverty line in rural areas was 45.3%, while the number was 35.4% in urban areas. The percentage of extreme poor in rural areas was 33.2%, while in urban areas it was 19%.