A senior officer of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the balcony of his fourth-floor apartment in a building at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Friday night. The deceased, Kulwendra Singh Kapur (55) was Director (Systems) at MMRDA.
According to the police, Kapur had dinner with his wife and son. Sometime after that, between 9.30 pm and 10 pm, the building’s security guard heard a loud thud. When he went to check on the noise, he found Kapur's body lying in a pool of blood on the ground floor and alerted his family.
Kapur’s family and security guard rushed him to Hinduja Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Kapur lived with his family in Jetwan building, which houses official quarters for senior MMRDA officers.
The police have not found any suicide note from Kapur. His family has not raised any doubts of foul play. The reason that drove Kapur to commit suicide is yet to be ascertained, and is a matter of investigation, officers said.
"We have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and his body has been sent to Sion Hospital for post-mortem, " said Anand Muley, senior inspector of BKC police station.
Prior to his appointment in MMRDA, Kapur was posted in the Western Railways. He was appointed as Director (Systems) in MMRDA in July last year, said an officer.
In an official statement released by MMRDA, the agency said, “We regret to inform you about the sad demise of Shri Kulwendra Singh Kapur, director (systems) MMRDA. Mr. Kapur was appointed to the post from July 2, 2019. Prior to his appointment in the MMRDA he was working with Western Railways. On July 31 late night, he was found in an unconscious state, at his residence building compound (officers' quarters) at BKC by a security person. Immediately he was rushed to Hinduja hospital Mahim by officers of MMRDA along with his wife and son who were residing with Mr Kapur. Hinduja hospital authorities declared him dead. BKC police station is investigating the matter.”
It added that Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, R A Rajeev, had expressed his deepest condolences and said the sudden demise of Kapur was a big loss to the MMRDA. “MMRDA as a family shares the grief along with his family in this difficult time. May God give the family strength to overcome this irreparable loss,” the statement quoted Rajeev as saying.
