Man kills mother, tries to commit suicide due to depression and unemployment | Mumbai News

Mumbai: A 77-year-old mother was allegedly killed by her son, who is unemployed and depressed after defaulting on his EMI loan repayments. Police said the man tried to commit suicide, but he survived and was taken to hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.

On Saturday afternoon, Worli police were informed by residents that a man and a woman were found unconscious on the second floor of Shiv-Sankalp SRA Cooperative Housing Society in Gandhinagar, Worli. “Our teams immediately rushed to the spot and shifted him to Wockhardt Hospital and his mother to BYL Nair Hospital,” said a police official from Worli police station. Upon arrival, the woman, Lalita Tiruganana Sambandham, was pronounced dead. The condition of the man, Balshanmugham Kuppuswami, is critical.

According to police, he told his wife he was going to his mother’s house on Friday evening. “Balshanmugham’s wife had been calling him since Friday evening, but he did not answer her calls throughout the day, so she came to the company where his mother was staying. When she found that no one was opening the door, she notified her neighbors,” the policeman reports.

“When I came, I saw many people gathered at the door and I broke the door. We found Lalita lying on the bed in her nightgown and Balshanmugham unconscious in the bathroom. We didn’t touch anything and immediately called the police,” said Mahesh Singh, who lives on the third floor of the premises. Residents said Lalita was left alone in the house. Her son gave her money and she asked the society children to bring her things.

“He met his mother and told her that he had become depressed after defaulting on his debts ₹He has taken a personal loan of Rs 36 lakh due to unemployment and is unable to pay her allowance or Worli house rent. He suggested that both of them commit suicide,” the policeman said. The mother agreed to his request, Lalita’s attempts proved futile, so Balshanmugham killed her before attempting suicide.

According to the police, the man wrote four farewell letters. “We also found four suicide notes written to his 21-year-old daughter, his wife working in the Service Tax Department, a senior police inspector at Worli police station and to Devdas Sakpal, the owner. The notes indicate that his mother and he were committing suicide and no one should be blamed for this extreme step. It said: I’m depressed; she is old. She’ll do it first, and then I’ll do it. This is our decision,” said a police officer.

Balshanmugham previously worked as a manager in a private company, but has been unemployed since April. His wife works in the service tax department. “His wife and daughter stayed with him at Darbhanga House, Income Tax Quarters on Pedder Road. He had rented a house in Worli for his mother, who was forced to live separately due to a conflict between her and his wife,” a police official said.

“We have now registered a case under Art. 103 section 1 (murder) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, 2023 and we are investigating the case,” said Ravindra Katkar, senior police inspector, Worli police station.

Police said they are yet to record Balshanmugham’s detailed statement as he is undergoing treatment. “The family is distressed by the events and cannot speak to other people. We are not sure when the murder took place, but we believe it took place late on Friday evening,” a police official said.