In a tragic incident that has raised serious concerns about workplace mental health, 42-year-old Tarun Saxena, an area manager at Bajaj Finance, died by suicide in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, Tarun left a suicide note expressing the immense pressure he had been facing from his superiors to meet stringent targets over the past two months, coupled with threats of salary deductions for underperformance.
Tarun was discovered hanging in his home by a housekeeper early on the morning of the incident. The housekeeper, upon finding him, alerted Tarun’s brother, who lives nearby. He rushed over, managed to unlock the door, and freed Tarun’s wife and two children, who had been locked in another room.
Following the incident, police took custody of Tarun’s body and sent it for a post-mortem examination. They have stated that further action will depend on the filing of a formal complaint by the family.
Tarun is survived by his father, a retired clerk, his wife, and their two young children. Family members have alleged that he faced relentless pressure from his employers to meet unrealistic performance targets, which they believe contributed to his tragic decision.
“Tarun Saxena was my elder cousin. He worked as an area manager at Bajaj Finance. The company had been pressuring him to bring in more collections from the market. When he failed to meet the targets, his salary was deducted. This morning, around 6:00 AM, Vaibhav Saxena and Prabhakar Mishra, who are based in Bhopal, held a conference with him and instigated him, following which he died by suicide,” his cousin Gaurav Saxena told India Today.
As of now, Bajaj Finance has not publicly responded to the allegations of harassment and undue pressure.
Jhansi’s Superintendent of Police, Gyanendra Kumar, confirmed that Tarun had committed suicide by hanging himself with a scarf and that a suicide note was recovered. “In the note, the deceased accused his superiors of harassment and pressuring him to meet high recovery targets. If a complaint is lodged by the family, further investigation will be initiated,” Kumar stated.
The incident has sparked discussions about the mental health challenges faced by employees in high-pressure environments and has prompted calls for more humane corporate practices. As investigations continue, the focus will likely remain on the circumstances leading up to this heartbreaking tragedy and the responsibilities of employers to safeguard the well-being of their staff.
