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Contrary to airline employees' claim, 30-yr-old's suicide note says nobody to be blamed for his death

The neighbours kept knocking at his door last morning, but there was no answer. "About a couple of hours later  we could sniff a whiff of a nauseating stench from Ritik Bhattacharya's flat. That's when we sensed something amiss and called up the police," said a neighbour, not wanting to be named.

Unfortunate: Ritik Bhattacharya, an aircraft maintenance engineer with Air India, committed suicide at his home at Air India colony, Kalina, yesterday. (Inset) Bhattacharya's body

An aircraft maintenance engineer with Air India, 30-year-old Bhattacharya was found hanging from the ceiling fan at his home in Air India Colony in Kalina, the police said.

"He had been living alone since January, after his wife delivered a baby and went to her parents' home in Kolkata," said a neighbour, Atul Sharma.

Wanted a transfer
"He had applied for a transfer to Kolkata so he could be with his wife and newborn," Bhattacharya's colleagues told MiD DAY on condition of anonymity. "However, since he had actively participated in the strike called by Air India engineers after the Mangalore air crash in May, his pleas for a transfer fell on deaf ears. Instead, he was given a transfer order to Goa, where he was to join duty next month."

Another engineer from Air India said many of his colleagues feel that the transfer to Goa was a "punishment posting" for employees who had spoken out against the management's decision and participated in the strike in May.

'Nobody to blame'
"His suicide note says nobody should be blamed for his death. We're awaiting the postmortem report," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone VIII) Satya Narayan Chaudary. "A case of suicide has been registered, and the body has been sent to Cooper Hospital, Vile Parle, for a postmortem."

Bhattacharya joined Air India in 2006 as trainee engineer and was given a permanent appointment a year later.

The Other Side

Spokesperson for Air India refused to comment on flight engineer Ritik Bhattacharya's death.