A drugged man, a teenage girl and a suspicious death in SoBo hotel

MUMBAI: On Saturday afternoon, around 4 pm, a 42-year-old Surat resident checked into a hotel on DB Marg in south Mumbai with a 14-year-old girl, claiming she was his daughter.

A drugged man, a teenage girl and a suspicious death at the SoBo hotel

Barely two hours later, the story unraveled when the man fell unconscious and was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police, who suspect that he died after overdosing on an artificial stimulant, found that the girl’s father was paralyzed and that he helped the family financially, while her mother alleged that the deceased had sexually abused her minor daughter.

According to police, the deceased lived with his wife and daughter in Surat and worked in a shop. He was a friend of the girl’s father, who also lived in Surat and was undergoing treatment for paralysis. He often visited the girl’s home and helped the family financially so that they could bear the treatment costs.

On Saturday afternoon, the man checked into a hotel in south Mumbai with the 14-year-old girl. “He had forged the girl’s Aadhar card and mentioned his surname instead of hers to make it appear as if she was his daughter,” a police official said.

Around 6 p.m., the girl informed the hotel manager that the man had become unconscious. Though the hotel staff informed the police and rushed him to the hospital, he was declared dead on arrival, said Inspector Sanjay Gaikwad of DB Marg police station.

The autopsy was conducted at JJ Hospital and his viscera was preserved and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Kalina for chemical analysis, police officials said.

After extensive investigation, the police informed the family of the deceased and the girl about the events. They also recorded the statement of the girl’s mother, who alleged that the deceased had sexually abused her daughter. The girl subsequently underwent a medical examination and a first information report was registered under sections 137(2), 64(1), 65(1), 336(2), 336(3) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya . Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the Child Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Protection Act.

“The post-mortem report is awaited. The viscera have been sent to Kalina and the cause of death will be known once the report comes,” Gaikwad said.