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Journalism of Courage
Lalit Sheth,56,chairman and managing director of Raj Travel World,a reputed travel agency and tour operator,jumped to death from near the Worli stretch of the Bandra Worli Sea Link on Wednesday afternoon. A suicide note suspected to be written by him was recovered from the back seat of his car.
Police sources said the suicide may have been triggered by Raj Travel Worlds worsening finances,but refused to elaborate stating that the familys statements are to be recorded. The incident took place at about 12:45 pm. The sources said the suicide note written in English said: …I failed to fulfil my commitments. No one else is responsible. I am sorry.
His driver told us that the deceased had a meeting in Bandra at 9:30 am. The meeting got over at about 12:30 pm and they left back for Sheths apartment. In his statement,the driver mentioned that when they neared the Worli section of the sea link,Sheth asked him to stop the car and told him he wanted to make a phone call, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5) Dhananjay Kulkarni.
The driver told the police that Seth allegedly asked him to pick him up from the end of the sea link. At around 1 pm,when Seth was still not seen,the driver called the victims son and narrated the incident. The family then began searching for the victim, said Kulkarni. As the family tried searching for Seth,his son Aakash,31,found the suicide note in the back seat of the car.
The body was recovered from near Worli fort at 4 pm by the police after it was washed ashore. A suicide note was found which said that no one was to be blamed for his death, said Additional Commissioner of Police (Central Region) Pravin Salunkhe. Family members have told the police that the handwriting on the note found was that of the deceased.
A family friend said everyone was shocked by the incident. This was unexpected and too sudden. We are all shocked by what has happened, the family friend said. The police have said that they will be asking for CCTV recordings of the cameras positioned near the site of the incident.
If there is any need for CCTV recordings to verify the incident,we will ask for them. Those recordings will reveal what actually transpired, said ACP (Dadar Division) Ramesh Ghanwat. Sheths body has been sent for post-mortem.
