Death of two college students in Arnala: Police say one died by suicide, suspect the other died while trying to save him

Two college students died at a Nalasopara construction site; one likely died by suicide over unrequited love, while the cause of the other remains unclear.

MUMBAI: In the suspicious death of two college students on Monday at a construction site in Nalasopara, the Arnala police have concluded that one of them, aggrieved by an unrequited love affair, died by suicide. The 20-year-old allegedly jumped off one of the higher floors of the underconstruction building, and although there is no confirmation yet, police suspect that his friend may have died while trying to save him.

Death of two college students in Arnala: Police say one died by suicide, suspect the other died while trying to save him

According to the police, when they were going through the 20-year-old’s books in his house, they found a suicide note where he had written that he was depressed and had decided to end his life because the girl he was in love with was seeing someone else. The police added that although the reason for his suicide was clear, they were yet unsure how his friend had died.

Deputy commissioner of police Suhas Bavche suspects two reasons for the second death. “Either he may have also given his life for a friend or the 21-year-old might have lost his balance while trying to save his friend from jumping off the under-construction building,” said Bavche. He clarified that there appeared to be no foul play.

The police added that while the deceased’s parents had initially claimed that their sons had been killed, investigations revealed that was not the case.

On Monday night the security guard at the construction site heard a thud at around 10:30pm and found the two men lying in a pool of blood. The police initially had trouble identifying the men since they had neither their phones nor any documents. They were eventually identified based on the number plate of a two-wheeler they used to arrive at the spot, said the police.

Both the men lived in the Achhole area of Nalasopara and were in their final year of their Bachelor of Management Studies in Nalasopara. One of the deceased’s fathers said that on Monday afternoon his son had brought a friend to their house. The duo had a cup of tea and left for Vrindavan Udayan to meet a third friend at 3:30pm. When they didn’t return even two hours later, their parents grew worried.

The father said that when his son’s friend too did not answer his phone, they began searching the area and eventually approached the police, who then registered a missing person complaint. At 11pm the deceased’s father received a call from the police, urging him to head to the hospital. “We were told that my son had met with an accident. When we reached the hospital, we saw the body of our son,” said the father.