05 April,2017 06:05 AM IST | | Asif Rizvi
Arjun Bharadwaj, who jumped off the 19th floor of Bandra's Taj Lands End hotel had tried to end his life twice before, but one of his friends had prevented him from doing so
Arjun Bharadwaj
Investigations into the death of the 23-year-old student Arjun Bharadwaj, who jumped off the 19th floor of Bandra's Taj Lands End hotel on Monday, have revealed that he had tried to end his life twice before, but one of his friends had prevented him from doing so.
The police have also learnt from his friends that he'd been sounding suicidal for over a fortnight. Continued from Police recovered at least seven short notes written by Arjun, a student of the Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, in the hotel room before his death. In one of the notes he said, "Thanks Anushka for preventing two previous attempts." In another note, he'd written that he was unable to take care of his mental health and hence, was taking the drastic step. Arjun also explained to his father Chatur Harinarayan Bhardwaj in a note that he'd started abusing drugs to handle his mental health, adding that he wanted to overcome his present mental state. He said he was thankful for all his friends.
The cops also questioned two of his friends to understand the reason behind his mental disturbance. "They told the cops that Arjun was sounding depressed and suicidal for over a fortnight. He constantly spoke about ending his life and how his life was of no use for him because of his drug habits," said an official source.
Arjun Bharadwaj final Instagram posts
The final hours
Arjun had checked into the hotel at 3 pm on Monday and spent a few hours in the room and first wrote the notes. Then, he drank wine and ate pasta, after which he began a live video on Facebook.
"After he finished the video, he kept his cell phone aside and began to break the thick glass of the window. He picked up a chair and kept hitting it until the glass broke. Upon hearing the sounds, the hotel staff rushed to his room with a master key, but could not open it since it was latched," said a police official.
Arjun (circled, in white bathrobe) is seen jumping from his 19th floor room in a screen grab from a video filmed by locals.
(The above image may be emotionally disturbing and not be suitable for all ages. Please view it with discretion)
Staff missed him by seconds
Sources said, "After the glass broke, the staff had reached to stop him. He then immediately managed to climb the parapet inside the room. One of the staff even asked him to stop, and he even turned back, but by the time they could reach him, he'd already jumped off. The staff fell short of saving him by just two to three seconds.
Some locals who were alerted by the sound of the glass breaking also made a video of the act." Arjun's body was later handed over to his family, who cremated him in the Ghatkopar crematorium, late on Tuesday afternoon.
Copspeak
"The process of recording the statements of his friends and relatives will be done soon. But primarily, the reason behind his step is mental disturbance," said senior police inspector Pandit Thackeray of Bandra police station.
