Harassed by goons,man ends life

Lalita,who is a homemaker and mother of a three-year-old boy,said annoyed by the constant violence her husband left the job and began working as a daily wage worker at a catering company. “He left the job four months ago,as the goons beat him up brutally. He used to come home bleeding regularly,” said Lalita.

On March 2,when Balekar was returning home from his work late night,Jahangir Shaikh and Abdul allegedly approached him again and demanded protection money. Balekar said he had left the job but the two did not pay any heed and assaulted him demanding money.

“After the goons left him wounded,my husband approached the Mankhurd police station. But the officers turned him down and did not register a complaint. He came home depressed. At 12.30 am that night,he consumed poison. We rushed him to the Shatabdi Hospital from where he was taken to Sion Hospital,” said Lalita.

Balekar,who was in coma at Sion Hospital,succumbed early on Tuesday. “If the police had registered a complaint in the matter,he would have been satisfied and alive now,” said Lalita.

When contacted,Senior Police Inspector of Mankhurd Police Station Pascal D’souza said they had received a complaint of assault from Abdul claiming the locals beat him up after Balekar consumed poison. “We have,however,not received any complaint from Lalita. If we get any complaint from Balekar’s wife about incident we would surely investigate the matter and also find out whether he was turned down when he had approached the police station,” said D’souza.