Mumbai: Depressed 36-year-old didn't want his family near even in death

A Navghar police officer performs the last rites of Sameer Patil at Bhoir Nagar crematorium. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

Mulund resident Sameer Patil's last wish was to be cremated by the police, not his family members. And he seems to have taken the mystery behind this strange request to his grave. The 36-year-old, who had been living a distressed life after losing his job two years ago and his wife walking out on him because of his alcohol addiction, was found hanging at his home yesterday. The Navghar police, who found a 12-page suicide note mentioning his inexplicable demand, performed his last rites.

Sameer Patil

Patil, a resident of Kalpataru society in Gavhanpada, Mulund East, was working at a senior position in a reputed company, when he lost his job two years ago. Upset, he started drinking heavily, leading to problems in his marriage with frequent fights between the husband and wife.

"His wife was troubled by his behaviour, and they would fight often. She wanted him to start working again and quit drinking, but he had gotten addicted to it," said an officer. Convinced that he wouldn't stop drinking ever, she took their four-month-old daughter and left him in December 2017. "Patil, who was already low on confidence, sunk into depression after that. His drinking increased and he started living a solitary life," said another officer. "He stopped talking to his relatives, after none of them checked up on him."

The drastic step
Last morning, Patil's neighbours smelt a foul odour emanating from his flat and alerted the police. "We broke down the door with the help of the fire brigade and found Patil hanging from the ceiling fan. He must have committed suicide at least two days ago," said Madhav More, senior inspector.

"The suicide note addressed to his family members was written in a diary." Another officer said, "This [his last wish] came as a shock to us too. We called up his family members and explained what he had written in the suicide note, and they permitted us to carry out the last rites." His body was taken to Bhoir Nagar crematorium, where sub-inspector Subhash Patil carried out the last rites, all of which was paid for by the Navghar police from their own pocket.

Also Read: Mumbai: Depressed Constable From Virar Jumps To Death From Building Terrace

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