Tragedy amid Covid-19 for reclusive Virar family

The Saharkar family lived in Brooklyn Park complex in Virar. Pics/Hanif Patel

The rescue of a 36-year-old woman who tried to kill herself at Arnala beach on Wednesday led the police to the highly decomposed body of her 71-year-old father at their home in Virar West. After Haridas Saharkar's death on August 1, the family kept the body at home fearing quarantine if he were to test Covid-19 positive. It has also emerged that the rescued woman, Swapnal, and her sister, Vidya, had made a suicide pact as neither was able to find a job amid the pandemic. Vidya, 40, died by suicide on Tuesday.

According to Hari Mishra, the broker who got them the Virar flat, the Saharkar family, including the two daughters, their mother, Vijya, and Haridas, had moved to the flat only a week ago. Haridas was a rationing officer with the state government and retired in 2007.

How case unravelled

The matter came to light after the police and morning walkers rescued Swapnal, who had consumed multiple pills and had gone to Arnala beach on Wednesday morning to die by suicide.

"After the rescue operation, we asked her why she wanted to end her life. She said she had no job. She also told us that her elder sister has died by suicide and her father had died at home on August 1," said Raju Mane, senior inspector of Arnala police.

Also read: Newborn girl thrown off 7-storey building in Virar; teen booked

Arnala beach on Wednesday. Swapnal was rescued at the beach in the morning

On Tuesday, the Arnala police had found the body of a woman. "When we showed Swapnal the photograph of this unknown woman, she immediately identified her as Vidya, her sister," Mane said.

"Swapnal told us that her father's body had been kept for days at her flat. We immediately reached there, forced open the door and found the body. It has been sent for a post-mortem," Mane added.

The family used camphor, naphthalene balls, room fresheners and other incense materials to suppress the smell from their 1BHK flat.

He added, "Both sisters did not earn a penny and were living with their parents. Swapnal said they had been trying to find a job to run the house and pay the rent but the lockdown had added to their woes." A source added that the sisters studied BCom.

"Swapnal said that her father was very strict. After his death, the sisters got scared and preferred not to inform anyone, lest the municipal corporation send them into quarantine if he were to test positive," a police source said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Prashant Waghunde said, "There was some internal dispute and the daughters did not want to conduct the last rites. We are investigating the matter."

Sisters applied everywhere

"Swapnal and Vidya had been applying everywhere but they did not get a job. After Haridas's death, they decided to end their lives as they did not have a source of income," the source added.

Haridas Saharkar

The source added that the sisters consumed sleeping pills and naphthalene balls late on Monday to end their lives. "But they did not die so they also cut their wrists and their forearms, stomach and other parts of their bodies," the source said.

"Then the sisters decided to drown in the sea. Due to the heavy sleeping pills, they dozed off. Vidya woke up later and tried to arouse Swapnal too, but she was too lethargic due to the pills. So Vidya left by herself and reached Navapur beach in Arnala and died by suicide. Her body was recovered on Tuesday," added the source.

"At home, when Swapnal woke up and did not find her sister around, she knew she had died. Then she, too, hired a rickshaw and went to Navapur beach on Wednesday to end her life but she was rescued by alert citizens and the police," the source added.

Self-harm uncommon

The medical officer of the government hospital in Agashi, Dr Rugved Dudhat, said that Vidya's post-mortem has been conducted and her viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis. "She died due to drowning but we have some queries and have preserved the viscera. We have found multiple Contused Lacerated Wounds (CLW) all over her body - on the arms, forearms and stomach. These are self-inflicted wounds. Only a person suffering from a psychiatric disorder can make such CLWs. In another scenario, such self-inflicted wounds are made under pressure. All cuts are deep. There were no signs of struggle on her body," Dr Dudhat said.

As for Haridas, Dr Dudhat said, "The cause of Haridas's death was not determined as the body is severely decomposed. There were no injury marks," Dr Dudhat said.

Swapnal has tested negative for Covid-19, said Dr Dudhat, who has suggested the police to ‘look more into the case'.

Police disturbed

Arnala police have registered two separate Accidental Death Reports.

"Staying with a body for four days is not a good sign. It is very disturbing," a police officer said.

Sources said that the stench at the Sharakar residence was too bad to bear. "The policemen had covered their face, yet they could not help puking. Their clothes had the foul smell and their masks had to be thrown away as they, too, had the stench," a source said.

Senior Inspector Mane added, "Swapnal and her elderly mother will be sent to a rehabilitation centre where they will be given required treatment."

A police officer told mid-day that the family was preparing meals daily and eating in the hall, while the body was kept in the bedroom. "Sometimes, the sisters brought eatables from outside," the source said.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Chandrakant Jadhav said that Haridas had high blood pressure. "On the day he died, he suffered chest pain. The daughters gave him medicine. But he did not survive," said Jadhav.

Neighbours shocked

Most Brooklyn Park residents refused to comment on the matter. One resident, Pramod Sawant, said, "It had been smelling a lot in the complex. I thought it could be a dead mouse. We tried to locate the source of the smell. We had called a technician to check the lift corridor, he was supposed to come on Thursday but police arrived in the morning and what happened then was really shocking."

The Saharkar family's landlord, Santosh Singh, did not wish to comment on the matter.

‘They stopped talking'

Neighbours from Haridas's old flat in Cotton Green said he used to live in Abhyudaya Nagar. In 2017, he sold the house and left. He did not inform anyone before leaving.

Madhuri Khatate, who was Saharkars' neighbour for many years, said the family had lived there for 35 to 40 years. "We had got to hear from people that they had gone to Panvel." Khatate added that until 2010, the Saharkars used to mingle with everyone. "But one day, they suddenly stopped talking to people. They even stopped drying clothes in the balcony of their house." Khatate said.

Khatate said Vidya and Swapnal were good in studies and were graduates. "A few years ago, Saharkar's brother used to visit him, but later he stopped and so did other relatives," Khatate said, adding that she did not know if the sisters were employed.

Nilesh Kharat, another neighbour, said Swapnal had appeared for an exam to get a government job and had passed too, but did not take it up. "When the sisters were younger, they used to play with other kids in the area. But, one day they suddenly stopped speaking to everyone. We never understood why," Kharat said.

Gokhale (who refused to give his first name), who lives in the same building, said Haridas used to greet everyone with a smile but that slowly stopped. "After the family left, two policemen came to enquire about Haridas. We told the cops that the family had left. We don't know why they were asking about Haridas," Gokhale said.

2007
Year Haridas Sharkar retired

2017
Year the family sold their Cotton Green house and left