A policeman allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle at Parangimalai in Chennai.

The deceased has been identified as Gopinath. He was working with the Police Arms Force and was posted at Parangimalai, Chennai.

The policeman was said to have been depressed and had sought a leave from his superiors.

Gopinath, native of Vadipatti in Madurai, was a 2013 pass-out. After completing his training at the Tuticorin Training Centre, Gopinath was inducted into the Palani battalion. He was recently transferred to Police Arms Force, Parangimalai in Chennai. A depressed Gopinath had left for work on Saturday night but shot himself with his service rifle. Hearing the gun shot fired, other policemen rushed to the spot only to see blood oozing out of Gopinath's head. Gopinath's body was covered with a cloth but was not removed from the spot immediately. According to Gopinath's colleagues, all of them had joined the police force with high hopes and big dreams. They said that there was immense work pressure and the higher officers were never ears to their problems. Some also narrated incidents of how they were being made to do household chores for officers. They added that they were sent for VIP protection and were made to do double shifts a number of times. According to Gopinath's friends, he was depressed due to work pressure. Gopinath had also told his friends on many occasions that he was unhappy and depressed due to the immense work load. However, they had not thought that Gopinath would take such an extreme step.

It is to be noted that 19,517 police force jobs are lying vacant in the state as was highlighted by DMK leader MK Stalin while raising the issue of how 240 policemen are still guarding former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's house (where VK Sasikala currently resides).

The Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu had recently warned the state government that he would take action if the 240 personnel deployed there are not withdrawn and redeployed.

He also asked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam to deploy them appropriately.

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Watch: Unable to bear work pressure, policeman shoots himself dead in Chennai