Neighbours say family addicted to drugs, the son tells cops that his mother slipped in the bathroom and hit her head
The building in Andheri where Sunita Singh lived. Pic/Sameer Markande
A 45-year-old fashion designer Sunita Singh died, allegedly after slipping in the bathroom of her rented flat on the third floor of a building in Andheri West on Thursday. The Oshiwara police have detained the victim's 23-year-old son, Lakshya, for questioning.
Senior inspector Shailesh Pasalwad said Singh lived with son Lakshya and his fiancée, Ashpriya Bannerjee, 22. Bannerjee has been living with Singh's family for the last three years, said a police officer.
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Pasalwad said "The trio often took drugs like ganja and charas. Lakshya told the police that at 3 am on Thursday, Sunita went to the bathroom and slipped there, badly hurting her head. He said she might have been 'hallucinating' due to the drugs. The bathroom was locked from the inside, so Lakshya had to break down the door when Singh did not respond to knocks."
Requesting anonymity, Singh's neighbour said they did not hear any commotion from their house, except for the 'barking of their pet dog'. Pasalwad has ruled out any foul play, but the sources said, "Lakshya called an ambulance in the morning to take her to a nearby hospital, but the ambulance staff refused to take the body saying it was a police case. Here, Lakshya panicked and left his house and went to a temple where he sat for two hours and switched off his cellphone. Later, he called a family friend who is a jeweller. The jeweller suggested that he inform the police, after which a team from Oshiwara police reached the house at 1.30 pm."
The body has been taken to RN Cooper Hospital for a post-mortem and the report is awaited. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory visited the house and have collected blood samples from the bathroom and other crucial evidence from the crime scene. Besides this, a team from the crime branch, too, reached the house and have been conducting a parallel investigation.
The Oshiwara police are checking if anyone came to Singh's flat on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. Cash-strapped Singh had moved to this flat three months ago, said sources and added, "The whole family is addicted to drugs and have taken loans from many people."
Investigators have recorded the statements of three people, including Lakshya, Bannerjee and their neighbour. The statement of the jeweller is yet to be registered, said Pasalwad. Lakshya has informed his maternal aunt, Priya, in Chandigarh and the relatives are on their way to Mumbai at the time of going to press.
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