Vijayawada: In a shocking incident, a woman beneficiary of a welfare scheme allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a running train, unable to bear the trolling on her on social media platforms at Islampet in Tenali town in Guntur district on Tuesday.
According to the official sources, the deceased Golthi Geethanjali Devi (29) was given the house site title deed by the ruling YSRCP MLA Annabattuni Shiva Kumar on March 4.
Geeethanjali Devi had been living with her husband, G. Balachandar, and her two daughters in a rented house in the colony for the last five years.
After receiving the house site title deed from the MLA, the deceased Geethanjali felt happy and shared her happiness on social media. In an interview on a Youtube channel, she disclosed that she had received benefits under the welfare schemes of 'Amma Vodi', and 'Cheyuta', and her family members were getting social security pensions, and she received the house site patta.
She made it clear that she would vote for the YSRCP. Her extolling of the government and the welfare schemes drew the attention of people, and it helped the ruling party get huge publicity on the implementation of welfare schemes.
However, her comments and expressing happiness on being given a house site by the Jagan Mohan Reddy-headed government on social media did not go well with some people, said to be activists of opposition parties.
They started trolling Geethanjali, posting humiliating comments, and abusing her personally. The deceased woman, who was disgusted and upset over the ignominious comments on her on social media, allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a running train in the wee hours on Tuesday.
The railway police registered a case and shifted the body to the GGH for a postmortem. The family members of Geetanjali lodged a complaint with the Tenali police station against the social media groups of opposite parties.
Responding to the incident, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed grief and shock and announced Rs 20 lakh ex gratia to the family of deceased Geetanjali. He made it clear that the perpetrators would not be spared.
Meanwhile, AP Women’s Commissioner Chairperson Vasireddy Padma alleged that Geetanjali committed suicide after being unable to digest abusive comments on her by the TDP and JSP social media groups.
She made it clear that the deceased Geetanjali was not a YSRCP activist; she was only one of the beneficiaries of welfare schemes. The suicide of Geetanjali created a political sensation in the state.