Air India pilot, 25, dies by suicide in Mumbai, friend arrested

A 25-year-old Air India pilot allegedly committed suicide at her rented flat in Mumbai following which her boyfriend was arrested on Tuesday on charges of abetment to suicide.

The woman, Srishti Tuli, was found dead in Andheri’s Marol on Monday, and her family from Gorakhpur suspect that the 27-year-old suspect, Aditya Pandit, murdered her and portrayed her death as a case of suicide. The family claims that she was publicly abused by Pandit and even banned from eating non-vegetarian food.

On Monday, Tuli was found dead in her accommodation behind Marol police camp in Andheri (East) and preliminary investigations indicate that her mental health had been disturbed due to continuous harassment by the suspect.

Pandita arrested for abetment to suicide

According to a preliminary police investigation, Tuli had returned from work on Sunday after which she had an argument with the suspect, who had been visiting her regularly lately. He left the flat around 1am to go to Delhi.

That’s when Tuli called him to tell him she was going to take the extreme step. When he got to her house, the door was locked from the inside. He then called a keysmith to enter the flat but found her unresponsive, The Indian Express reported citing police.

The suspect reportedly rushed her to Seven Hills Hospital in Marol where the woman was pronounced dead. Her family was informed.

Senior Inspector of Powai Police Station Jitendra Sonawane said they have arrested Pandit under Section 108 (abetment to suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, following a complaint filed by Tulsi’s family. The police officer said he was produced in court on Tuesday and has been remanded in custody for four days.

Sonawane said the post-mortem report indicates Tuli’s cause of death as suicide. “We have sent the woman’s phone, which is locked, to a forensic laboratory to analyze her conversations with the suspect. We will soon record statements from her family members, roommates, close friends and colleagues,” Sonawane said.

What FIR says

The FIR says Tuli and Pandit met in Delhi two years ago during Commercial Pilot’s Lincense training. The woman lived in Dwarka during her schooling and later moved to Mumbai after getting a job with Air India in June 2023.

The FIR also reveals that Tuli’s friends and colleagues told her uncle Vivekkumar Tuli that Pandit often misbehaved with her and tried to control her. An instance is also reported where she could not make it to Pandit’s sister’s engagement due to work, after which he did not speak to her for about ten days. His behavior towards her left her mentally disturbed, the FIR said.

In his statement to the police, Tuli’s uncle stated that Pandit shouted at her in public. ‘At a party, he shouted at her for eating non-vegetarian food and stopped her from doing so again. He damaged her car and left her in the middle of the road. He used to harass her a lot but Tuli loved him a lot,” Vivekkumar said.

CCTV footage from Tuli’s association shows her coming home after work on Sunday. She even spoke to her mother over phone without showing any signs of worry or distress, indicating that she took the extreme step after arguing with Pandit, the FIR said.

Police also said Pandit had prepared for a pilot exam but could not qualify.

Tuli’s uncle told The Indian Express that while the post-mortem report points to suicide, the family suspects that Pandit had killed her after giving her a sedative. “He used to withdraw money from her bank account and we suspect he was blackmailing her. We found some transactions. We would share this data with the police soon,” he said.

Vivekkumar said Tuli was the first woman pilot from Gorakhpur and was honored by the UP Chief Minister. Her last rites were performed on Wednesday morning and were attended by hundreds of people who gathered to pay tribute to her.