An Air India pilot, 25, dies by suicide in Mumbai and his boyfriend is arrested

A 25-year-old Air India pilot allegedly committed suicide in a rented apartment in Mumbai, following which her boyfriend was arrested on Tuesday on charges of abetting suicide.

The woman, Srishti Tuli, was found dead on Monday in Andheri’s Marol and her family from Gorakhpur suspects that 27-year-old accused Aditya Pandit killed her and portrayed her death as suicide. The family alleged that Pandit abused her in public and she was even banned from eating non-vegetarian food.

On Monday, Tuli was found dead in her apartment located behind the Marol Police Camp in Andheri (East) and preliminary investigation revealed that her mental health had been affected due to constant harassment by the accused.

Pandita arrested for aiding suicide

Preliminary police findings show that Tuli returned from work on Sunday and then had an argument with the accused, who had been visiting her quite often recently. He left the apartment around 1 a.m. and went to Delhi.

That’s when Tuli called him and said she was going to take an extreme step. When he returned to her, the door was locked from the inside. Then he called the moonlighter to get into the apartment, but it turned out that she was unresponsive, reports “The Indian Express”, citing the police.

According to reports, the accused rushed her to Seven Hills Hospital in Marol, where the woman was pronounced dead. Her family was notified.

Senior inspector of Powai police station Jitendra Sonawane said they have arrested Pandit under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita following a complaint lodged by Tulsi’s family. The policeman said he was produced in court on Tuesday and sent to police custody for four days.

Sonawane said the autopsy indicated Tula’s cause of death was suicide. “We have sent the woman’s blocked phone to the forensic laboratory to analyze her conversations with the accused. We will soon record statements from her family members, roommates, close friends and colleagues,” Sonawane said.

What does the FIR say?

The FIR claims that Tuli and Pandit met two years ago in Delhi while training for a commercial pilot’s license. The woman lived in Dwarka during her training and later moved to Mumbai after getting a job with Air India in June 2023.

The FIR also reveals that Tuli’s friends from advertising work told her uncle Vivekkumar Tuli that Pandit often misbehaved with her and tried to control her. She also recalls an instance when she missed Pandit’s sister’s engagement due to work, after which he did not speak to her for about ten days. The FIR stated that his behavior towards her made her mentally disturbed.

In his statement to the police, Tuli’s uncle stated that Pandit used to shout at her in public places. “Once at a party, he shouted at her for eating non-vegetarian food and stopped her from doing so again. He was destroying her car and leaving her in the middle of the road. He used to harass her a lot, but Tuli loved him very much,” Vivekkumar said.

CCTV footage from Tuli’s association shows him returning home after work on Sunday. She even spoke to her mother on the phone without showing any signs of distress or sadness, suggesting that she took the drastic step after the argument with Pandit, the FIR stated.

Police also said that Pandit was preparing for the pilot examination but failed to qualify it.

Tuli’s uncle told The Indian Express that although the autopsy indicates suicide, the family suspects that Pandit killed her after administering a sedative. “He was withdrawing money from her bank account and we suspect he was blackmailing her. We found some deals. We will share these details with the police soon,” he said.

Vivekkumar said Tuli was the first woman pilot from Gorakhpur and was honored by the UP Chief Minister. Her last rites took place on Wednesday morning and were attended by hundreds of people who gathered to pay their respects.