‘Couldn’t Bear Pressure’: Bank of Baroda Senior Manager Dies by Suicide Inside Baramati Branch, Cites Work Pressure In Note

Pune, Maharashtra: A senior bank manager died by suicide inside the bank premises in Baramati, Pune district, on Thursday night, with a note citing work pressure as the reason.  

The deceased, Shivshankar Mitra, in his late 40s, was serving as Chief Manager at the Baramati City branch of Bank of Baroda. Mitra had resigned from his post on July 11, citing health issues and workload, and was serving his notice period, a police official said. He was reportedly undergoing medical treatment at the time. 

According to Police Inspector Vilas Nale of Baramati City Police Station, Mitra hanged himself between 10 PM and 12 midnight. Earlier in the day, he had asked a colleague to bring a rope, which he later used to take his life around 10 PM, as recorded on the bank’s CCTV cameras.

The incident came to light when Mitra did not return home and was unresponsive to calls, prompting his wife to visit the bank around midnight. Finding the lights on and receiving no response, she alerted the bank staff, who opened the branch and found him hanging from the ceiling.

A suicide note was recovered from Mitra’s trouser pocket, where he wrote that he was ending his life due to pressure related to work. He did not blame anyone specifically. Inspector Nale confirmed that the body has been sent for postmortem and that a thorough investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances that led to this extreme step. A case has been registered.

This tragedy follows a string of similar incidents linked to workplace stress. In May, Nikhil Somwanshi, an employee at Ola's artificial intelligence unit Krutrim, died by suicide, reportedly due to a toxic work culture and extreme pressure. 

Earlier, the death of 26-year-old Anna Augustine, an Ernst & Young employee in Pune, brought national attention to work-related stress after an emotional letter written by her mother, Anita Augustine, went viral. Anna, who had joined EY in March, passed away in July, with the letter blaming “excessive workload” and “four months of EY’s callous attitude” for her deteriorating health and death.

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