Constable ‘shoots’ self in car; cops say he was facing problems at home

The police said at 9.30 pm on Tuesday,Sawant,who lived in Pant Nagar police quarters,left home and drove his Tata Safari towards Vikhroli. “His mother urged him to have dinner before he left,but he did not,” said Mahipat Indalkar,Senior Inspector at Vikhroli police station.

Sawant’s car was found parked on Feroz Shah Bridge,Mumbai-Thane Road,at 10.30 pm by a patrol van. “Our officers on patrol found it suspicious that the engine was running and the air-conditioner was on,but the driver was not in sight. They saw bloodstains on the seat and found a cell phone and service revolver. On the other side of the car they found a man lying in a pool of blood below the passengers’ side door. An Aadhaar card in his pocket helped us identify him,” he added.

Sawant was rushed to Rajawadi hospital with injuries on his chest. “He had shot himself twice in the chest. Later,we found two empty rounds near the car. At the hospital,he wasn’t in a state to record a statement. So,we recorded a verbal statement on a cell phone camera. He said he was frustrated due to a domestic issue. Sawant died of his injuries at 5.45 am on Wednesday,” Indalkar said.

The police have begun investigating the case,labeling it a suicide. “We will record the statements of his family members,once they recover from the shock,” he said.

This is the second case of suicide allegedly committed by a policeman this year,after Assistant Police Inspector Chandrakant Mahajan reportedly shot himself in the chin with his service revolver at his cabin in Chunabhatti police station on July 31. He succumbed to his injuries at Surana Hospital on September 15.

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