Pilot suicide: Mumbai court extends boyfriend's custody as police seek couple's phone chats

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A Mumbai court on Friday extended till December 2 the police custody of the boyfriend of a 25-year-old Air India pilot who allegedly died by suicide in her rented flat in the Marol area of Mumbai on Monday, news agency PTI reported.

The pilot's 27-year-old boyfriend, who has been charged with abetment of suicide, was produced before a magistrate's court in suburban Andheri at the end of his previous remand on Friday.

The police sought further custody of the accused from the court, saying that they need to retrieve the deleted WhatsApp chats between the couple from his mobile phone, PTI reported.

The chats may reveal crucial information related to the victim's death, they submitted.

The accused was detained on Tuesday after one of the relatives of the pilot alleged that he had harassed and abused her as well as forced her to stop consuming non-vegetarian food, the police earlier said, citing the first information report (FIR) registered in the case.

According to Mumbai Police, the pilot hailed from Uttar Pradesh and had been living in Mumbai owing to her job since June 2023.

She met the accused while pursuing a commercial pilot course in New Delhi two years ago.

The accused was allegedly en route to Delhi in his car when the pilot called him and said "she would end her life". He rushed back to Mumbai following the call but found the door of her flat locked from inside, an officer said earlier.

The accused then got the door opened with the help of a key maker and rushed the pilot to SevenHills Hospital, where doctors declared her dead. No suicide note was found in the house, the officer said.

Based on a complaint filed by the pilot's uncle, the accused was arrested under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 108 (abetment of suicide) and produced in a court which remanded him to police custody for four days.

"On November 24, the accused had visited her house and we [her family] suspect that he killed her. Around 20 days ago she returned home and was very happy. We are sure that she has not died by suicide. She was a cheerful and independent girl. She knew to fight for her rights," her uncle said.

The woman's grandfather is was in the Indian Army who died in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. She had recently won the youth icon award, her relative said.

(With PTI inputs)