Lalchand Rathore asked his driver to stop the car saying he needed to relieve himself, and then took the plunge; he had been depressed for nearly 20 years
A 65-year-old man, who had been suffering from depression for nearly 20 years, ended his life by jumping off the Bandra-Worli Sea Link yesterday.
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Parel resident Lalchand Rathore, who owned an import-export business and was also a moneylender, jumped to his death at 10:35 am. He is survived by his wife and two sons. Police officials said that while the family is financially well off, Rathore had been suffering from depression since 1986 and also had cardiac and blood pressure problems.
Around 9:30 am yesterday, Rathore left for his office in Mazgaon. He asked his driver to go to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link first so that he could get some fresh air. After crossing the sea link, he made the driver take a U-turn from Bandra. Once the car crossed the toll plaza, he asked the driver to stop because he wanted to relieve himself. He came out of the car and jumped off.
Inspector Shailesh Pasalwar of the Bandra police said, “Rathore had been depressed for quite some time. He asked his driver to take him to the sea link and, after taking a U-turn from Bandra, made him stop the car and jumped off from near pole number 5.”
ACP Shivajirao Kolekar said, “He wrote a suicide note before leaving the house, which stated that he was taking the extreme step because of his depression and health problems. We recovered his body with the help of a fire brigade worker and it was sent to Cooper hospital.” An accidental death report has been registered.