Slighted by cops, 55-year-old jumps to death minutes later

Minutes after he was snubbed by the police when he told them of his fear of being murdered, a 55-year-old plunged to his death from the adjacent police residential quarters.

Bose jumped from the terrace of the three-storey police quarters adjacent to the Santacruz police station. Pics/Rane Ashish

The deceased was identified as Bankim Chandra Bose, a retired driver who resided in Santacruz west with his wife, Manju, and son, Bunty. According to sources, Bose went to Santacruz police station around 3.30 pm on Sunday, and told the officers that he had received death threats and was afraid for his life.

According to his wife Manju and son Bunty, Bose had been suffering extreme anxiety in the last few days

"He was so scared, he wasn't able to speak properly. He just said that some assassins were after his life," said an eyewitness at the police station. According to another eyewitness, the police took his complaint very lightly and did nothing to ease his distress.

"When the elderly man came to complain, he was exhausted and told the cops that he was afraid for his life. The cops took it very lightly and no one listened to him. They should have consoled him, should have asked him to sit and calm down," said the source, adding, "He was in the police station for well over half an hour, but the cops were not ready to hear him out. He finally got frustrated and left the police station. The police station has CCTV cameras that must have recorded everything."

Minutes later, the cops heard a loud thud and rushed outside to see Bose lying in a pool of blood. After leaving the police station, he had gone straight to the terrace of the next building - the police residential quarters - and jumped from the terrace. He was rushed to the hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. According to his college-going son, Bunty, Bose was suffering from severe anxiety but had refused to take medication for it. He had returned to the city just days ago.

"My father was tense over the last few days. There was a property dispute over our Chembur home. He feared that people would kill him. For over a year, he was in Kolkata but he returned to Mumbai on November 11. We took him to a few doctors for the stress, but he had not been taking his medicines. He left home in the afternoon and never returned. We went searching for him and later found out about his death," said Bunty.

Cop speak
However, the police claimed that the elderly man never managed to tell them about his fears. Police Inspector Ramchandra Jadhav of Santacruz police station said, "The man had come to the police station but he was not able to speak. We offered him some water and then he left. We have registered an Accidental Death Report in the matter and are taking down statements."