Father of Deonar youth who killed self over unanswered calls to girlfriend raises questions on incident

Manav Lalwani’s residence in Deonar

Two days after mid-day reported about the suicide of a 24-year-old Deonar resident, Manav Lalwani, who hanged himself on the terrace of his house after calls he made to his girlfriend went unanswered, the Trombay police swung into action and recorded the statements of his friends, girlfriend and parents on Wednesday. The cops have also sent his girlfriend's and his cell phones for technical analysis.

Lalwani had killed himself on December 2. Hours before the incident, he had gone to the Chembur Gymkhana to meet his girlfriend and some friends over dinner. After returning home, the couple spoke over phone for a while and later his girlfriend went off to sleep. Lalwani wanted to continue speaking to her and kept calling, but the calls went unanswered. Thereafter, he took the drastic step. The Trombay cops had registered an Accidental Death Report and were investigating the matter.

Manav Lalwani

However, the deceased's father Prakash Lalwani had raised some questions over the incident. He had even written a letter to the Mumbai police chief demanding an inquiry into the suicide. mid-day had reported about the incident on December 7.

The police have recorded the statements of Lalwani's girlfriend and two friends with whom he had dinner on the night of the incident. "That night when Lalwani went to Chembur Gymkhana with his girlfriend, two of his friends were already there. After having dinner together, the duo returned home. We have recovered some chats between them that happened post dinner, but what happened over call is still unclear," said a police officer. Lalwani's father said, "Nothing happened for four days after the incident, but on Wednesday morning the Trombay cops came to our house and recorded our statement. My other son has also been called for questioning. Had I not written to the commissioner or mid-day not reported the matter, the case would have been closed by now." Speaking to mid-day, Senior PI at Trombay police station, Siddheshwar Gove said, "We have not closed the investigation. Statements of his friends and girlfriend have been recorded. We have also seized the mobile phones for technical analysis. It's too early to arrive at a conclusion."