Mumbai : The police have ruled out foul play or suicide in the case of Kalpana Bhattacharya (70) who drowned at Marine Drive on Monday.
Sub-inspector Samir Shaikh of Marine Drive police said, “Eyewitnesses at the spot saw the woman being pulled in by the high tide which hit Marine Drive after 1:00 pm on Monday.”
On speaking to her son the police found that Bhattacharya had lost her husband a few months ago following which she had gone into depression.
Bhattacharya’s son and daughter in law used to take her often to Marine Drive to help her recover from the loss of her late husband.
Bhattacharya’s son left the house at around 10:00 am on Monday morning for some work and he was supposed to be back by 12:00 noon. Her daughter in law was also out for work. “The security guard of the complex saw Bhattacharya leave the house alone at around 11:30 am that morning,” said Shaikh.
When Bhattacharya’s son reached home and found that his mother was not there, he filed a missing person complaint at the Powai police station. He also went to all the nearby areas in Powai in search of his mother. It was after this that he remembered the spot at Marine Drive that he often took his mother to and headed towards it.
The Marine Drive police reached the spot in a matter of two-three minutes. They tried to pull her out from the tetrapods lining the wall with the help of sticks and ropes but Bhattacharya being frail and old could not hold on to anything that was being thrown in to rescue her. The waves were also lashing her face from time to time, which caused her to lose clear view of the people who were trying to help her out. In a matter of minutes she was pulled in by the strong waves.
After recovering her body the police also found her walking stick, spectacles and her purse with some money in it. Lifeguards, coast guards, police boats, naval divers and local fishermen together carried out the rescue operation. As Bhattacharya was not carrying any identity with her the police had a difficult time tracing her family initially but they finally connected the dots with the help of the missing person complaint that her son had lodged at the Powai police station.
