A 42-year-old man, Tarun Saxena, employed as an area manager with Bajaj Finance, died by suicide in Jhansi after allegedly facing intense pressure from his seniors to meet work targets. In a note left behind, Saxena detailed how constant stress and threats of salary cuts over missed targets drove him to take his own life.
The incident came to light early this morning when Saxena was found dead by the house help. According to authorities, he had locked his wife and two children in a separate room before the incident. He is survived by his parents, wife Megha, and children Yatharth and Pihu.
In a five-page letter addressed to his wife, Saxena revealed the immense strain he was under after failing to meet his work targets over the past two months. Tasked with the collection of EMIs for Bajaj Finance loans in his area, Saxena said he was unable to meet his goals due to multiple challenges, which led to repeated threats of job loss from his superiors.
"I am very tense about the future. I have lost my ability to think. I am going," he wrote in the letter, explaining how his senior managers had humiliated him and pressured him into covering shortfalls in loan recoveries. Saxena also alleged that he and his colleagues were forced to pay for the EMIs they couldn't recover. Despite raising these issues with his seniors, he claimed they ignored his concerns and continued to push for results.
The suicide note also revealed that Saxena had not slept for 45 days and was barely eating due to the overwhelming pressure to meet his targets. "Senior managers are pressuring me to meet targets at any cost or quit," he wrote, further indicating his anxiety over the possibility of losing his job.
In a poignant message to his family, Saxena expressed his sorrow and asked his parents to look after his wife and children. He also requested that his family file a police complaint against his seniors, whom he held responsible for his death. His cousin, Gaurav Saxena, confirmed that Tarun was under constant pressure to increase loan recoveries, stating that a video conference earlier that day had exacerbated his stress. "They said he couldn’t do his job and needed to be sacked. He has named them in his suicide note," Gaurav added.
Local authorities, led by Senior Police Officer Vinod Kumar Gautam, have confirmed that they are awaiting the post-mortem report and will act upon any complaint filed by the family. "The suicide note mentions pressure from his seniors over work targets. If we receive a formal complaint, we will investigate and take appropriate action," Gautam said.
Bajaj Finance has yet to respond to the allegations made in Saxena's letter. The incident comes amidst growing concerns over toxic work environments, following the recent death of EY's 26-year-old chartered accountant Anna Sebastian Perayil, which has sparked a nationwide debate on workplace mental health and pressure.