After calls to girlfriend go unanswered, 24-yr-old hangs self at Deonar residence

Manav Lalwani and (right) his residence, Green Acres, at Deonar, where he killed himself

Hours after partying with his girlfriend and a couple of friends, a 24-year-old Deonar-based man died by suicide. He hanged himself on the terrace of his house around 2 am on December 2. Investigation into the incident has revealed that the deceased, Manav Lalwani, returned to his colony with his girlfriend after dinner, as they live in the same locality, and kept calling and messaging her till late in the night before taking the drastic step.

Lalwani's father has written to the Mumbai police commissioner claiming that the Trombay officers were not taking the probe seriously, and has also demanded an abetment of suicide case. The local police have registered an accidental death report.

Found hanging on terrace

Lalwani, who was a resident of Green Acres, Deonar, lived with his parents and brother. On the day of the incident when his mother didn't find him in his room around 2 am, she told his father about it. The couple then found him hanging by a rope at the terrace. He was rushed to Zen Hospital but was declared dead on arrival around 3.30 am.

"After the hospital alerted the police station, our officers rushed to the spot and took his body for a panchnama. We seized his mobile phone to get more information about the incident," said an officer from Trombay police station.

Investigation revealed that Lalwani and his girlfriend went to Chembur Gymkhana with some of their friends around 8.30 pm on December 1. He consumed alcohol during dinner and both returned to the colony around midnight. Even after returning, the duo kept talking over phone, but later the girl refused to continue and went off to sleep.

"The girl kept her phone on silent mode and went off to sleep. There were 10 missed calls from Lalwani on her phone close to 1.58 am. He was on the terrace since he returned from dinner and later hanged himself to death from a pipe," said a police officer.

Lalwani's father Prakash Lalwani said, "It's been four days since the incident and the cops haven't investigated anything. Neither have they seized his girlfriend's phone, nor conducted a drug test on her and his friends. This needs to be done to understand whether there is any foul play. This looks like an abetment of suicide case, as my son was on his phone before taking the drastic step. I will get answers to these only when the investigation is done properly. It pains me to see that the cops are neglecting the probe just because the woman's father is an influential government employee."

Police speak

Speaking to mid-day, senior inspector of Trombay police station, Siddheshwar Gove said, "We have recovered the CCTV footage of the terrace in which Lalwani can be seen speaking on the phone and then hanging himself later. He had some issues with his girlfriend. Further investigation will reveal if it is a case of abetment."