Man committed suicide in live was a ‘hero’ to family

Amicable, fun-loving, out-going and full of spirit: These are the adjectives stunned family and friends came up with to recall him.  

But what they missed out about the slain businessman was his perceived loneliness that had been eroding his mental health – leading to commit suicide on a facebook live on Wednesday night.

Apart from loneliness, businessman Abu Mohsin Khan, also the father-in-law of prominent actor Riaz Ahmed, mentioned failing health and business losses before pulling the trigger at point-blank range of his head.

The body was brought to his Dhanmondi residence on Thursday afternoon after the autopsy. The Quran was being recited in the garage of the house next to the freezer ambulance.

Actor Riaz was standing beside it, and taking photos with his mobile phone – probably to send those to his mother-in-law and brother-in-law who were in Australia.

Mohsin Khan had been living alone for around four years at the apartment, and he detailed it nearly for 15 minutes in the live too. Before that, he had been in Australia a few years since his son was there for study.

Mohsin Khan, the eldest among three brothers who all are businessmen like their father, was born in Cumilla. "My brother was a hero in the family. We used to follow him in our childhood," said Mohsin's brother Lipu Khan.

Lipu said the family moved to Dhaka's Green Road in the 80s and they got separated gradually after marriage. But Mohsin Khan would reunite all on the eve of any family celebrations or festivals such as Eid.

Lipu said he did not know that his brother had suffered so much in business. If they knew, they could have taken steps earlier.   

"Once my brother was a very successful businessman. He used to have gunmen around and would go out with three to four vehicles like a motorcade. He was flamboyant."

Lipu said he and his brother went to the DC office together a couple of days ago to renew their arms licences. "It was beyond my wildest imagination that my brother would kill himself with that pistol."

Lipu said they used to hang out regularly. He said their father, who now lives with him, became speechless after hearing the news about his eldest son.

A suicide note was found beside Mohsin Khan's body. It says, "I am devastated by the collapse of business. Many owed me, but they did not pay. No one is responsible for my death."

Meanwhile, there has been a storm in social media centering the suicide.

"A suicide, a tactic has spread in the media. It's terrible," Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police Nazrul Islam wrote in his timeline, adding, "Many studies have shown that crime related issues stimulate people's thinking. I am requesting everyone to remove that post of suicide."

The deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Ramna division told the media that police were investigating the incident.

In a separate development Thursday, the High Court directed the telecommunication regulator to remove the suicide video from all social media platforms by Thursday night.

The telecom regulator will have to submit a report on compliance with the court order by next Wednesday.