A day after losing husband, cancer survivor kills herself by jumping into well in Mumbai
According to the police, Sugntha was suffering from depression ever since she lost her 20-year-old son Ramesh in 2015.
Forty-year-old Sugntha Ravi lost her son in an accident in 2015, beat cancer last year and lost her husband a day before - a final tragedy for her - as she killed herself by jumping in a well on Thursday morning in Aarey Colony. Known to her friends and family as Shakuntala, she used to work as a housekeeping staff and lived with her sister Seeta.
On Thursday morning, she left from her Unit 13 room after Seeta left for work. She called her cousins and her friend before calling her aunt Jayalakshmi Dharmalingam, who was working at Aarey Dairy when she received Shakuntala’s call at 10.15 am.
“She said she is going away and that we should not look for her,” said Dharmalingam. When the elderly woman inquired where she was, Shakuntala told her she is going to the well and will kill herself by jumping in it.
“I told her to not be foolish and kept her talking to me,” the woman said. Dharmalingam then ran towards the well from her dairy, while still talking to her. Midway, Shakuntala hung up on her. “I was running and calling her, but would not get an answer. When I reached the well, I saw her sitting on the edge,” said Dharmalingam. The woman said she tried to walk towards Shakuntala, but she jumped into the well before she was within Dharmalingam’s reach.
According to the police, Shakuntala was suffering from depression ever since she lost her 20-year-old son Ramesh in 2015.
She was later diagnosed with cancer and underwent a major surgery in March last year.
The Aarey police have filed an accidental death report. The fire brigade pulled out her body around noon.