Congress councillor proposes to name South Delhi street after Sushant Singh Rajput

SDMC Congress councillor Abhishek Dutt has proposed to name a stretch of road in south Delhi after Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The Andrews Ganj councillor in the BJP-led South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has sent the proposal to the civic body’s road naming and renaming committee. In the written proposal to the committee, Dutt said that a large number of people living in the area abutting Road No 8 hail from Bihar, and claimed that “they have been demanding” to name the stretch from Andrews Ganj to Indira Camp as Sushant Singh Rajput Marg. So, it is proposed that Road No 8 be named after the Patna-born actor in his memory, Dutt said. Meanwhile, a Trinamool Congress member demanded a law to regulate coverage of such sensitive cases, saying Indian media marked a “new low” while reporting on the case. Speaking during the Zero Hour, where members raise issues of public importance, TMC’s Pratima Mondal accused the media of “heartless reporting” and asking insensitive questions to the deceased’s family and close contacts which increased their pain, anguish and suffering while being “extremely disrespectful” to the late actor. “This form of heartless reporting causes severe impact on young minds who are inspired by persons who have passed away,” she said, alleging that some people have already taken the extreme step. Major countries around the world either follow WHO guidelines or have formulated their own laws for sensitive reporting of suicide cases, she said. Mondal said, “It is high time that India also formulates a law in these directions and until that happens the government must issue a set of guidelines for the coverage of sensitive cases by the media.” She also asked the government to give importance to the issue of mental health and said that having a national suicide helpline number is an “undeniable need” of people. The 34-year-old actor was found dead at his Bandra residence in Mumbai on 14 June. (With inputs from Press Trust of India) *

A collection of Suicide prevention helpline numbers  are available here. Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022 2754 6669