Father-son suicide: Reason behind suicides was fear of defamation, depression, say GRP officers

MUMBAI: Almost a month-and-a-half after a 60-year-old father and his 30-year-old son died by suicide on July 10 by lying down before a running train at Bhayandar railway station, the Vasai Government Police has solved the mystery behind their extreme step. According to GRP officers, the father was suffering from depression, and his son was troubled by his secret inter-faith marriage, and his first wife was threatening to defame him.
While investigating the case, the police searched the son’s office in Marol, Andheri East, where they found a diary. In that diary, they found a note written by him and addressed to his wives.
He married 10 years ago and had not told anyone in his family. While being already married, he officially got married to another woman in 2023. In the note, the 30-year-old had apologised to both the women, confessing that he had made a mistake.
The officials said they had also found the 30-year-old’s mobile phone, where they found messages and chats exchanged with his first wife. “Scanning through the messages, we found that the man’s first wife had been threatening to defame him in society for ruining her life by not taking her home, as she belonged to a different religion and then marrying another woman in 2023,” said a police officer from Vasai GRP.
The officials said that the man’s father too feared defamation and had decided to end his life as he was suffering from depression after the death of his wife in 2020 due to Covid-19.
The incident occurred around 9am on Monday when the two men were captured by the CCTV cameras installed at platform number 6 at the Bhayandar station.
The CCTV showed that the two men jumped from the platform and, started walking along the tracks. They were spotted lying on the tracks as a train headed towards Churchgate approached. The train driver attempted to stop and slowed the train down, but they were crushed to death.
“The reason behind their suicides was fear of defamation and depression. We have registered an accidental death report and will file the report based on the statements of the son’s wives and relatives,” added the police officer.