Friends tried, but failed to prevent suicide

After Arjun Bhardwaj went live on Facebook with a video tutorial on 'how to (commit) suicide' on Tuesday evening, his friends and family members repeatedly called the reception of Taj Lands End Hotel to inform them about his suicide bid. However, the hotel reception could not initially ascertain which room Bhardwaj was staying in, owing to confusion that cropped up after one of his friends asked the reception to check for one 'Milind Mehra' who was attempting suicide.

Between 6.15 pm and 6.20 pm on Monday, Bhardwaj went live on Facebook, and within minutes, his worried friends started calling the hotel to inform them about the suicide bid. It took Bhardwaj two minutes to break the window of his room. He also left behind suicide notes for family and friends.

"When his friends saw video, they frantically called up the hotel in the hope to thwart Bhardwaj's suicide attempt. However, there was confusion after one of his friends informed the hotel that the boy attempting suicide checked in as Milind Mehra," said Sanjay Kadam, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bandra division.

After identifying the troubled guest, when the reception called Bhardwaj's room and spoke to him, he calmly responded to the receptionist. When Bhardwaj broke open the window, a huge crowd gathered on the road outside the hotel. "The guards heard loud thuds. The security manager rushed with the master key to open the door to rescue him, but it was too late," said Kadam.