The police suspect depression due to long-term illnesses as the reason behind the act.
A senior-aged maid employed with a family for over 50 years allegedly committed suicide by setting herself ablaze on Friday morning. The police suspect depression due to long-term illnesses as the reason behind the act.
The police have identified the deceased as Vachchalla Parte, 65, who lived alone in a flat in Manohar society in Bandra. Mohan Chainani, 75, her employer, stays in Pune along with his family.
Assistant police inspector BS Gawade of Bandra police station said that prima facie it appears that the woman had set herself on fire near the balcony, as no other portion of the flat was damaged. “Curiously, we did not find any match box or lighter near the spot where her body was found,” Gawade said.
According to the police, Parte was found in an unconscious state in the balcony when Shyamlal Lulla, a neighbour, went to offer her breakfast. Lulla realised that Parte had sustained severe burn injuries and with the help of other neighbours rushed her to Bhabha hospital nearby, where she was declared dead around half-an-hour later.
Initial investigation by the police revealed that Parte was bedridden since over three months due to malaria and was also suffering from acute blood pressure.
Chainani, who rushed to Mumbai on learning about the incident, told the police that Parte had been working with the family of her elder sister since the age of 14. After the death of his sister and brother-in-law about 10 years ago, Chainani took her to Pune to keep her with his own family. However, as she was not comfortable with the weather there, she opted to stay at Chainani’s Bandra flat.
“She would refer to me as elder brother. She shared a strong emotional connection with my family,” said Chainani, who works as a missionary with Sadhu Vaswani Mission in Pune.
The neighbours said that the old woman would survive on the food supplied by a tiffin agency and a few neighbours, who would also take her for medical check-up in case of emergencies.
A security guard from the building said that Chainani was a good-natured woman and would often come down to have chat with them. “However, she had stopped socialising since the last few months,” said a guard of the society.
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