Mumbai: A 43-year-old Dadar-based woman, a doctor by profession, jumped from the newly opened Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) aka Atal Setu on Monday. The woman’s father found a suicide note at home when he was alarmed and informed the police.
According to Bhoiwada police, where the victim’s father registered a missing person report on Monday evening, his daughter Kinjal Kantilal Shah was mentally unwell for the past decade.
She was battling with depression and also undergoing treatment for the same, said the police. Shah was out for work on Monday morning and Kinjal had informed him that she would be going out for work.
However, when he returned home, he found a suicide note on the table that said, “I am going to Atal Setu bridge.” The father tried to contact her, but it was not reachable, hence, worried, he contacted the police.
The police began the probe by alerting the personnel at Atal Setu and then confirmed the movement of Kinjal using the CCTV camera installed around her home location – at the Navin Asha building on Dadasaheb Phalke Road in Dadar East.
In one of the CCTV cameras, Kinjal is seen sitting inside a taxi at 1:30 pm from the Shindewadi area, and the vehicle moving towards South Mumbai – then towards Atal Setu Bridge.
“Almost 14 to 15 km on Atal Setu, towards Navi Mumbai, the taxi stopped and Kinjal got out towards the side, walked some steps back, jumped into the sea from the edge,” said a police official, adding that the said taxi’s driver drove towards the end and informed the personnel about the same.
“The taxi driver said that Kinjal asked him to stop saying she wanted to click pictures and had asked him to go. They checked the CCTV camera to locate the woman, instead found her jumping into the sea, and immediately alerted the Nhava Sheva police,” the official said.
The Nhava Sheva police during an inquiry learnt that the woman’s missing report had been registered with Bhoiwada police, and contacted them to join the search operation.
Meanwhile, the coastal police, motor vehicle department along rescue boat services are currently on their toes to locate the body. All police stations at Navi Mumbai have been alerted about the possibility of the body being washed out on the shores of their jurisdiction.
"Since yesterday we have been searching for the woman with the help of coastal police and other local villagers and rescuers. But are yet to trace her. On Monday itself we took the statement of the taxi driver who claims that the woman asked him to take the Atal Setu bridge as she wanted a fun ride on the bridge and to see it. We also called her relative today for a statement and meanwhile, the search operation is still going on," said Rajendra Kote Patil, senior police inspector, at Nhava Sheva police station.
Meanwhile, the reason behind Kinjal's extreme decision is yet to be found. An inquiry is being conducted by the Bhoiwada police currently.
