The 54-year-old assistant general manager (AGM) of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was allegedly murdered by his wife and son early on Friday and there was an attempt to pass it off as suicide, according to police. The incident occurred in the SIDBI officer-rank quarters at Veera Desai Road in Andheri west. The arrested mother-son duo is reported to have pushed the banker, Santanakrishnan Seshadri, 54, from the seventh floor of the high-rise around 4am. The arrested duo, identified as Jaisheela Seshadri, 52, a commerce graduate, and her son Arvind, 26, a BTech, had hatched the plan to carry out this murder on Thursday evening, police said. They have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for murder and causing the disappearance of evidence.
According to police, Seshadri was found lying in a pool of blood on the ground floor of the employee quarters by the watchman, who heard a loud thud. He immediately alerted Seshadri’s family, who claimed that they were fast asleep at the time of the incident and the banker could have jumped off the window after slitting the pigeon net. Police reached the spot and found the mother-son duo weeping profusely.
Primary investigation revealed that Seshadri had made similar attempts to end his life in the past. On Friday, Seshadri was found with a banged up head, slit wrist. Since there were discrepancies in the family’s statements, which was found suspicious by the police. After they found blood-stained clothes stuffed in the washing machine, the duo broke down and the details came tumbling out in a five-hour long interrogation.
The mother and son revealed that they were fed up with Seshadri and his behaviour, as he was not contributing to family expenses and had a troubled relationship with them. Jaisheela and Arvind had a heated argument with Seshadri on Thursday, after which the duo is alleged to have plotted his murder. They reportedly set the alarm for 4am the following day, banged Seshadri’s head against the wooden cot, cut his left wrist with a sharp weapon to portray it as a suicide attempt and an hour later, threw him out of the window after cutting the pigeon net.
While the duo had made a foolproof plan, they failed to clean the bloodstains in the bedroom. The mother-son duo knew that the neighbours on the seventh floor were not home and thought that Friday morning would be opportune to execute their plan. A senior officer said that Arvind was disappointed as he was seeking job prospects in New Zealand and had asked for his father’s help. Seshadri had refused.
During the probe, Jaisheela said that she had a troubled marriage and was allegedly tormented by Seshadri, being asked to sleep in the living room, as he said the bedroom was only his own. The arrested duo has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for murder (section 302), causing disappearance of evidence (section 201) and common intention (section 34). They will be produced before the local magistrate court on Saturday.
