Police probe 'coercion and abuse' in Kalyan air hostess suicide

Police in Maharashtra have booked a 23-year-old man for abetment of suicide following the death of an air hostess in Thane district late last month, officials confirmed on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old woman was found dead at her residence in the Kalyan (East) area on 28 December. While the death was initially reported as a suicide, investigators at Kolsewadi police station registered a First Information Report (FIR) on 10 January against the woman’s former partner after a review of her mobile phone records and financial transactions, according to a report PTI.

The alarm was raised when the victim’s mother could not reach her daughter by telephone on the night of the incident. A neighbour who went to check on the flat at Anusuya Niwas discovered her hanging from a ceiling hook. She was rushed to Rukminibai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

The investigation has since shifted focus toward the victim’s relationship with the accused, which began in 2020. Details provided to the police by the family suggest a pattern of coercion and abuse.

Messages recovered from the victim’s phone indicated the man had allegedly threatened to leak private photographs of her. The accused allegedly had recently entered a relationship with another woman and refused to honour a previous commitment to marry the victim.

"The chat records and marks found on her body suggested the accused frequently assaulted her," the official said. " Furthermore, bank statements show the man had taken several lakhs of rupees from her under the pretext of marriage, with the most recent transfer occurring on 16 December."

The case has been registered under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to the abetment of suicide. Investigators are currently probing the financial transfers and digital evidence to determine the full extent of the pressure placed on the victim in the days leading up to her death.