Woman constable hangs self to death at residence

Mumbai: A woman police constable, Manju Gaikwad, 22, hung herself to death at her police quarters’ residence Tuesday afternoon. Police sources said that she used a dupatta to kill herself. The deceased was attached to the local armed unit, and was staying with her sister and brother-in-law. The body was sent to KEM for postmortem, and an accidental death report (ADR) has been registered at Bhoiwada. No suicide note has been found even as the police is probing the case.

According to police sources, Ms Gaikwad stayed in Naigaon police line with her sister, who is a traffic constable. The deceased, a native of Nashik, came to the city two years ago and was attached to Naigaon’s local armed unit 1. Ms Gaikwad belonged to Nashik’s Umarpada village and passed out from the police academy in 2016.

According to sources, Ms Gaikwad was found hanging from the ceiling fan at 2pm on Tuesday by her sister, following which, the local police was alerted about the incident. Ms Gaikwad was alone at the time of the incident and had shown no signs of depression in the days prior to the incident, said an investigating officer.

Deepak Deoraj, deputy commissioner of police (operations), said, “An ADR has been registered, and close friends and relatives will be questioned to know what triggered the extreme step. Prima facie, the cause of death is asphyxiation, and further details will be confirmed after postmortem. No suicide note was found on the spot.”

Ms Gaikwad’s body was rushed to civic-run KEM Hospital where she was declared brought dead. The police is investigating the case to find out the reason behind the alleged suicide.