Mumbai:

A court, while granting bail to a man booked for abetting the suicide of his girlfriend and Air India pilot, held that the victim had not complained to her family member or any authority about their strained relationship and his acts.

Pilot Srishti Tuli (25), who lived in a rented flat in Marol area of Mumbai was found dead in the early hours of November 25. A day later, police arrested her boyfriend Aditya Pandit (27), and charged him with abetment of suicide.

Additional sessions judge (Dindoshi court) T T Aglawe on December 27 granted bail to the accused.

In the detailed order made available on Thursday, the court noted that the FIR points out three instances of strained relationship between the applicant and the deceased.

“However, the deceased had not complained about the acts of the applicant either to her family members or to any other authority,” the court said.

It held that the material investigation was already over and therefore curtailing further liberty of the applicant (Pandit) was “not warranted”.

The complaint against Pandit had been lodged by the victim’s uncle.

As per the complaint, the accused and the victim were residing in the same room for five-six days prior to the incident. However, on the day of the incident the accused left for Delhi at around 1 pm.

It has been alleged that there used to be a dispute between the two over their food preferences as Tuli was a non-vegetarian and the accused a vegetarian.

The complainant alleged that only because of that reason, she might have committed suicide.

However, Pandit’s lawyer, Aniket Nikam, argued that a case of abetment of suicide is not made out.

“Merely because there were some fights between both of them, it does not mean that the applicant had any criminal intent,” the lawyer said.

After hearing both the sides, the court granted bail to Pandit.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

A court here on Friday granted bail to Aditya Pandit, the jailed boyfriend of an Air India pilot who allegedly committed suicide last month.

Pilot Srishti Tuli (25), who lived in a rented flat in the ‘Kanakia Rain Forest’ building in Marol area, was found dead in the early hours of November 25.

A day later, police arrested Pandit (27), her boyfriend, and charged him with abetment of suicide under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 108.

His bail application was allowed by Additional Sessions Judge (Dindoshi court) T T Aglawe. But the detailed order has not bee made available yet.

The complaint lodged by Tuli’s father said the accused and his daughter were residing in the same room for five-six days prior to her suicide. However, on the day of the incident the accused left for Delhi.

As per the complaint, the accused and the deceased had different food preferences and this was a matter of contention between them.

Tuli was a non-vegetarian and the accused a vegetarian. Pandit constantly put pressure on Tuli to change her food habits may have led her to commit suicide, the complainant alleged.

However, Pandit’s lawyer, Aniket Nikam argued that a case of abetment of suicide was not made out.

“Merely because there were some fights between both of them, it would not mean that the applicant had any criminal intent,” he said.

Nikam further argued that in order to attract the charge of abetment, it was necessary to show that the deceased was left with no other option but to commit suicide.

“This was not so in the present case. The deceased was an educated lady. If she was unhappy in the relationship, she could have always walked out of it or if she was being harassed by the accused she could have complained about it,” he said.

Neither there was any complaint earlier nor any suicide note, and hence it cannot be said that the applicant abetted the suicide, the lawyer argued.

Pandit, in his bail application, mentioned that when he was on his way to the national capital, he called Tuli multiple times, but got no response. He got worried and rushed back to Mumbai and found the door of her flat locked from inside.

When Tuli did not open the door despite repeated knocks, Pandit called a key maker and got it opened. On finding his girlfriend hanging in the flat, he, as a law-abiding citizen, rushed her to hospital in order to save her life. However, the said effort became infructuous, his petition said.

“It is submitted that without admitting any of the allegations, even if, the entire FIR is taken as it is, it does not indicate any such abetment of suicide. Only because an FIR has been registered by the respondents, the applicant (Pandit) came to be arrested,” it said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The 25-year-old Air India pilot, who was found dead at her Mumbai home, spoke to her mother and her aunt 15 minutes before the family got the crushing news that she had died. Ruling out that Srishti Tuli died by suicide, the family has alleged she was murdered and accused her boyfriend Aditya Pandit of harassing and manipulating her.

“Police are saying she died by suicide. Then what did he do that pushed her to the edge? She cheerfully spoke to her mother and aunt. And 15 minutes later, she was dead. How did this happen? What did he tell her? What did he do? Police are probing this,” Srishti’s uncle Vivek Tuli told NDTV. Mr Tuli has filed a complaint with Mumbai Police and an FIR has been registered. Aditya has been arrested under charges of abetment to suicide.

According to police, 27-year-old Aditya has said during questioning that he left for Faridabad in his car Monday when Srishti called him and threatened to die by suicide. He rushed back and found the flat’s door locked. He and another woman pilot called in a keymaker who opened the door. Srishti was found with a data cable around her neck. She was rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead. No suicide note has been found at her rented home.

The young pilot met Aditya during a commercial flying course in Delhi two years back. While she completed the course, Aditya dropped out. Srishti moved to Mumbai last year after getting her pilot’s licence. Aditya lived in Faridabad near Delhi and would visit her frequently.

The pilot’s family, based in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, has alleged that Aditya would harass her mentally, shouting at her in public places and also pressuring her to stop eating non-vegetarian food.

Her uncle Vivek Tuli said, “They are saying she died by suicide, but I don’t believe it. This is planned murder. She was strong, otherwise she would not be a pilot. We have come to know about her friend (Aditya), who started training with her but could not complete the course. He was jealous of her and would harass her.”

Mr Tuli alleged that Aditya also extorted money from Srishti. “We have managed to check only one month’s bank statement so far. Around Diwali, about Rs 65,000 was transferred to his family members. I am convinced that he was blackmailing her. I have now asked the bank for the whole year’s statement. Maybe, she had refused him money and that became the cause of her death.”

Mr Tuli said Srishti had not told her family about any harassment she was facing. “She had narrated bits and pieces to her sister. But when I met her friends, they told me the extent to which he harassed her. He would scream at her publicly. There were times when he made her get out of the car in the middle of the road and drove away,” he said.

He alleged that another woman pilot was involved in Srishti’s death. “We came to know that another woman was there. She called in the keymaker, got him to open the door and took Srishti to the hospital. Who opens the door and enters someone’s flat without calling the cops? And these are trained pilots. And why would a key maker randomly open a door from outside?”

Gorakhpur, Mumbai:

Family members of the 25-year-old Air India pilot found dead at her Mumbai home have alleged that her boyfriend, who has been arrested for abetment to suicide, would humiliate her publicly, harass her mentally and extort money from her.

Srishti Tuli was found dead at her rented home in Mumbai’s Marol area on Monday. She allegedly used a data cable to hang herself after an argument with her boyfriend Aditya Pandit (27) over the phone. Aditya has told police that he rushed to her flat to find the door locked. A key maker was called in, the door was opened Srishti was rushed to hospital, where she was declared dead. Police have not found a suicide note in the flat.

Srishti was from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur and her family is struggling to cope with the shocking loss. Her uncle Vivek Tuli said, “They are saying she died by suicide, but I don’t believe it. This is planned murder. She was strong, otherwise she would not be a pilot. We have come to know about her friend (Aditya), who started training with her but could not complete the course. He was jealous of her and would harass her.”

According to the FIR, Srishti met Aditya during her training for commercial flying in Delhi. While she completed the course, Aditya dropped out. Srishti moved to Mumbai last year after getting her flying license.

Mr Tuli said they had gone through Srishti’s bank account statement. “We have managed to check only one month’s statement so far. Around Diwali, about Rs 65,000 was transferred to his family members. I am convinced that he was blackmailing her. I have now asked the bank for the whole year’s statement. Maybe, she had refused him money and that became the cause of her death.”

Aditya lives in Faridabad near Delhi and often travelled to Mumbai to stay with Srishti. “Police are saying that she died by suicide. I don’t know how he manipulated her and pushed her to the edge. What did he do? She spoke to her mother and aunt cheerfully just 15 minutes before her death.” 

Mr Tuli said Srishti had not told her family about any harassment she was facing. “She had narrated bits and pieces to her sister. But when I met her friends, they told me the extent to which he harassed her. He would scream at her publicly. There were times when he made her get out of the car in the middle of the road and drove away,” he said.

He said the family would approach Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for justice. “We are from Gorakhpur. I would go and request Yogi ji for justice. I cannot accept that she died by suicide.”

Mr Tuli alleged that another woman pilot was involved in Srishti’s death. “We came to know that another woman was there. She called in the keymaker, got him to open the door and took Srishti to the hospital. Who opens the door and enters someone’s flat without calling the cops? And these are trained pilots. And why would a key maker randomly open a door from outside?” The family has alleged that Aditya also pressured Srishti to stop eating non-vegetarian food. Recently, they fought after she could not attend his sister’s engagement ceremony.

The family has filed a complaint and the police have registered an FIR under the abetment to suicide charge and arrested Aditya