Air India pilot ‘suicide’: Tuli made video call to Pandit to show she was going to take her life, say investigators
Pointing out that Aditya Rakesh Pandit was trying to hide something, the source said he allegedly deleted all chats with Tuli.
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Tuli was found dead at her rented accommodation behind Marol Police Camp in Andheri (East). (File Photo)Air India pilot Srishti Tuli, 25, who allegedly died by suicide on November 25, had made a video call to her friend Aditya Rakesh Pandit, 27, before taking the extreme step. Investigators suspect that after the couple’s fight when Pandit left for Delhi, she threatened him saying she would commit suicide, but as he was not paying heed, she made a video call showing him how she was going to hang herself, sources in the police department told The Indian Express.
Pointing out that Pandit was trying to hide something, the source said he allegedly deleted some of the chats with Tuli. When police asked him about the deleted messages, Pandit claimed that he told her that he would also commit suicide if she dies. Police are not buying his claims and are trying to recover the deleted messages with the help of forensic experts, the source added.
There were around 10-11 phone calls between the two besides several missed calls on Tuli’s phone while he was going back to her place, as claimed by him, to stop her from taking the extreme step, police said adding they have seized Pandit’s phone.
Tuli was found dead at her rented accommodation behind Marol Police Camp in Andheri (East) early Monday. Initial inquiries indicate that she was mentally disturbed due to Pandit’s harassment, police said. Pandit had been preparing for a pilot’s exam but failed to qualify, they added.
Preliminary police probe has revealed that when Tuli returned home after work on Sunday, she had an argument with Pandit. Around 1 am, Pandit reportedly left for Delhi. Tuli called him on his phone and allegedly told him that she was going to take the extreme step. According to police, Pandit then returned to her place but found the door locked from inside. He called a locksmith, got the room opened, and found her unresponsive, officers said.
Pandit rushed her to Seven Hills Hospital in Marol, where Tuli was declared dead. Soon her family and police were informed. As per preliminary investigation, the fight between the duo triggered the young pilot to take the extreme step.
When police asked Pandit about the reason behind their fight, he claimed that she was forcing him to stay for a few days but he decided to leave. Police are trying to verify this from their chats and messages.
Police have informed Pandit’s mother Anjali Pandit, 53, about her son’s arrest on the complaint of Tuli’s family and the charges police have pressed against him.
Another police source said that Pandit was arrested as he failed to inform police about Tuli’s threats to commit suicide over phone call and messages. Even when he found her residence locked from inside, he got a locksmith to open it, without informing the police. Also he was the last person with whom the deceased woman spoke to. All these indicate his possible role behind her suicide, the source said.
Pandit has been arrested under section 109 of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and would be produced in the court on Friday for the second time to seek his custody for further investigation, police said.
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