UNI journalist depressed over ‘backlog of salaries’ commits suicide in Chennai

A veteran photojournalist, T Kumar working for a news agency United News of India was allegedly found dead at his office in Chennai on Sunday night. A colleague found Kumar hanging from a ceiling hook in the agency’s office.

Police personnel arrived at the scene and took Kumar to the Kilpauk Government Medical College Hospital where he was declared dead. The body was handed over to his family today, after the autopsy.

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As per the PTI report, sources in the news organisation said that Kumar was facing financial trouble and an alleged “backlog of salaries”. The 56-year-old is survived by his wife, son, and a daughter. He had joined the news agency in 1986.

A photojournalist with over 30 years of experience, Kumar rose through the ranks of the news agency to become its state bureau chief. He had joined the news agency in 1986 and he was the first photographer to become state head of the agency in Tamil Nadu.

According to a report on Newslaundry, sources in UNI claimed that salaries have remained inconsistent, and Kumar had not been receiving his full salary over the last 60 months. “My salary is over 50,000 but I get only around Rs 15,000,” a journalist working with the news agency alleged.

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