A Mumbai resident’s life was saved by a timely alert by an Ireland-based Facebook staffer, who noticed suicidal activity on the person’s social media timeline. The 27-year-old man, who was in financial distress, had been posting videos on Facebook that made it appear as though he was preparing to end his life. This raised a red flag on the social media giant's network. Facebook officials feared any attempt to contact the man directly could drive him to expedite his suicide plans. So a company official contacted Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Anyesh Roy as the phone number used to create the Facebook account was registered in the national capital.
PTI reported the Facebook staffer shared the details of the “suicidal activity” with Roy via email just before 8pm on Saturday, post which began a race against time to save the man. The Delhi resident had lost his job during the pandemic and had moved to Mumbai and started working as a cook in a hotel and living in a rented home in the Bhayandar area in the city, Delhi Police officials said. The man had moved to Mumbai after fighting with his wife a fortnight ago.
DCP Roy got in touch with his counterpart in Mumbai, DCP Rashmi Karandikar, but the man's phone number was found “unreachable”.
A team tracked down the man’s location. Karandikar said she spoke to the man, who was in psychological distress and crying, and counselled him, even as a team of local police officials rushed to the address.
Before that, the Mumbai Police asked the man's mother to videocall him on WhatsApp, but the call got disconnected after a single ring.
“I am happy that we could save a man’s life. We are thankful to Facebook, its official in Ireland who alerted us on time about the man’s suicidal tendency and to the Delhi Police official who, in turn, informed us about it. The operation was tough because we had limited information. The end result was heartening,” Karandikar said.
A spokesperson for Facebook said, “We want Facebook to be a platform where everyone feels safe and empowered to communicate. Our Community Standards include policies on self-injury or suicide. We have built these policies and enforcement approach with help from experts in suicide prevention and safety. When there’s a risk of imminent harm, we work with emergency responders who can help. We also provide people who have expressed suicidal thoughts, or are worried for friends with such tendencies, with support options and resources.”
