Mumbai couple, teenage daughter hang themselves, leave behind 3 suicide notes

In an apparent case of suicide, a couple and their teenage daughter were found hanging in their rented home at Kamothe on Sunday morning.

The woman was identified as Jasmine Patel, 45, an MBBS doctor who ran a clinic near her home in sector 36. Her daughter, Oshin,15, had completed her Class 10, but had discontinued studies. The man was identified as Indrajit Dutta, who neighbours said never went to work though he claimed to be an engineer.

All three left notes giving different reasons for ending their lives. The doctor said she had lost interest in life because of prolonged illness and that she did not want to leave her daughter behind. She also said their bodies should be donated to KEM hospital for students to use.

The girl said she was depressed and frustrated because the couple used to fight frequently and that she had discontinued her studies.

The man said that after he saw the two dead, he lost his will to live and so was hanging himself too.

The family had left the key of their house in a plastic bag outside the door. Their maid opened the door with that key on Sunday morning and found the husband hanging in the hall and the mother and daughter in one of the bedrooms.



She then raised an alarm and the neighbours called the police.

Hemant Nagrale, police commissioner of Navi Mumbai said, the family used nylon ropes to hang themselves.

Ashok Naik, senior police inspector of Kamothe police station said the man was apparently drinking in the living room when the mother and daughter committed suicide. "He realised what happened when the effect of the alcohol wore off and brought down the bodies. He must have then killed himself," Naik said.

Naik said, "From the notes we understand that the woman had severe back pain and she was unable to walk properly. We have recovered walking sticks from the house. We have sent the suicide notes to handwriting experts to verify if they were really written by different persons." The police have ruled out the murder angle for now.

The family was from Madhya Pradesh and police were trying to trace their family members. In his suicide note, the man described the girl as 'her daughter', so police suspect he was not the father.

One of the neighbours on condition of anonymity said, "The family did not socialise much. They came out only for essential tasks such as buying milk and vegetables and returned home."