Air India pilot’s suicide is linked to harassment for eating non-vegetarian food; boyfriend held

Srishti Tuli, who lived in Kanakia Rain Forest building in Marol area, died by suicide in the early hours of Monday.

Police took her boyfriend Aditya Pandit (27) into custody on Tuesday after one of Tuli’s relatives accused him of harassing and abusing her and forcing her to stop eating non-vegetarian food, the official said citing the FIR.

According to the Powai police station official, Tuli was from Uttar Pradesh and had been living in Mumbai for work since June last year. She and Pandit had met two years ago while attending a commercial pilot course in Delhi and started dating.

The suicide came to light after Pandit started his journey to Delhi by car. During the drive, Tuli called Pandit and said she was going to end her life. Pandit rushed to Mumbai and found her flat door locked from inside, the official said.

He then got the door open with the help of a keysmith and found Tuli hanging by a data cable. She was taken to SevenHills Hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead. No suicide note was found in the house, the official said.

Tuli’s uncle later approached the police and alleged that Pandit would often harass her and even humiliate her in public. Moreover, he had also pressured her to change her eating habits, the relative alleged, the official said.

Based on the uncle’s complaint, Pandit was arrested under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhit section 108 (abetment to suicide). He was produced before a court which remanded him in judicial custody for four days, the official added. PTI