Police constable commits suicide

A police constable posted in Worli Local Arms (LA-II) division committed suicide by consuming poison in the Kalachowki police colony premises.

Constable Keruji Shinde, 45, was found unconscious around 9.30am on Thursday and rushed to KEM hospital, where he breathed his last on Saturday. Shinde’s family claims that he was upset due to the suspension order he got after allegedly reporting to work in an inebriated state.

“We found his identity card, which indicated that he worked with the Worli LA-II. Preliminary investigations suggest that he consumed poison. We are waiting for the post-mortem report to be entirely sure of it,” said senior police inspector Ramesh Poman of Kalachowki police station.

Shinde was married and had three children, who stay at his native place in Pune. Shinde’s elder son is preparing for exams to qualify for the military, while his daughter is studying in class XII and the younger son in class X.

Shinde shared his room with 15 people in Kherji Bhojraj chawl in Kalachowki and had been working in the police department for the last 21 years. “He was mentally harassed by his seniors, which might have driven him to take the extreme step,” said Vittal Nalavde, Shinde’s brother-in-law. “Shinde consumed alcohol while on duty, which led to him being suspended,” added Nalavde.

Jitendra Bagal, who resided along with Shinde said that he was a good human being, with drinking being his only vice.