A 30-year-old Goregaon resident was found dead in his residence on June 30 this year. While the Goregaon police have ruled the death to be a suicide for now, his family members have submitted a letter to the police alleging that he was murdered, and have sought an in-depth investigation into the same.
According to the Goregaon police, the deceased, Harshit Desai, used to stay with his business partners in Goregaon. He was found dead on June 30 and the police had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in connection with the incident.
On Monday, however, Desai's cousin brother, Jagdish Devasi, submitted a letter to the police, stating that there were indications of foul play in Harshit's death which needed to be probed by an independent agency. Devasi has sent the same letter, signed by several members from his community - the Devasi Samaj - to the zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police as well as the Mumbai Police Crime Branch.
Speaking to the Free Press Journal, Devasi said that Harshit's body, which was found hanging by an electric cable, was taken down by one of one of his business partners
"Who is allowed to touch or pull down a body in an alleged scene of a suicide, without the intervention of the local police? We were told that the body was laid down on the bed before the police even reached the scene. When we approached the police, they told us it was a suicide based on their preliminary investigation, even before a post mortem examination was conducted," Devasi said.
Devasi said that he had even approach the on-duty doctor at the Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon, where the body was taken, and alleged that the doctor had threatened him, saying they should either claim the body or it would be disposed of, because Harshit had been detected to be COVID-19 positive.
In the letter submitted to the police on Monday, Devasi has said that Harshit, who was leading a real-estate agency and also a primary shareholder in the venture, was 'cheerful' and 'had no mental tension or depression'.
"The motive of the murder shall be only revealed after a deep investigation by Crime Branch, Central Bureau of Investigation or National Investigation Agency, since the Goregaon West police station and the doctors, who have conducted the post mortem are hiding the facts and clinching evidence," the letter states.
Senior police inspector Dattatray Thopate, Goregaon police station, said that an ADR was registered on the basis of the post mortem report, which clearly certified the death as a suicide.
"However, we have received the letter submitted by Devasi and will be conducting inquiries into the points that he has raised," Thopate said.
Meanwhile, Harshit's brother, who stays in Rajasthan, reached Mumbai on Monday and will be visiting the police station on Tuesday for inquiries in connection with the allegations made in the letter.
