Surat: Men accounted for seven of every 10 calls to Surat police’s suicide prevention helplines, since its launch in April 2025, with financial distress and family disputes emerging as the most common trigger factors.Data compiled by Surat city police for the period between April 21, 2025, and Sep 8, 2026, shows that the helplines received 831 calls. Of these, 581 were made by men and 250 by women. The service operates through emergency numbers 100 and 112, along with dedicated suicide prevention helpline numbers 8128308100 and 8128369100.The helplines have become an important intervention mechanism. Trained police personnel and counsellors provide telephone and face-to-face counselling aimed at preventing suicides.Surat commissioner of police Wabang Jamir said: “In preventing suicide, timely information and counselling is important. Once we get information, we contact the person using all resources and if need be the police reach the place in time. By adopting suicide calls with utmost priority, we could save 167 people over past 1.5 years after the helplines were launched. At the same time, 173 people contemplating suicide were counselled and prevented from taking the extreme step.”Surat police introduced the two dedicated suicide helpline numbers 18 months ago after a committee studied suicide cases reported in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The study identified 1,866 suicide cases in the three-year period.Police records classify distress calls under family disputes, financial difficulties, relationship problems, career or examination failures, illness and other personal reasons.Family disputes accounted for 283 calls, the highest among all categories, followed closely by financial distress with 268 calls. Relationship and love-related issues resulted in 57 calls, while career-related concerns accounted for 47 calls. Illness was cited in 24 cases and 152 calls were classified under other reasons.When asked why men were seeking help more frequently than women, a counsellor said: “Surat is a diamond and textile hub. With a large number of people associated with business and jobs, men tend to face financial uncertainty more as compared to women. As a large number of migrants live here, issues related family, relationship and love also add to suicidal thoughts.”
