Family stayed with body of kin for 10 days in Saki Naka hotel: Cops

Chimte said that as per the preliminary investigation, there was no foul play involved. “We are probing all possible angles to know the exact cause of death and how the family stayed with the decomposed body for 10 days,” he said

MUMBAI: Four people spent 10 days with the decomposed body of a family member at a Saki Naka hotel where they had checked in 41 days earlier. After the UK-returned son of the dead woman reported the matter to the police on Saturday night, the body was recovered and the family members taken in for questioning.

The family checked into Hotel Grandeur on December 21, 2023. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

According to a senior police officer, Abdul Karim Suleman Halai (82), his daughter Naseema Yusuf Halai (48), Naseema’s 26-year-old daughter and Abdul’s son and grandson checked into Hotel Grandeur on December 21, 2023. The preliminary investigation showed that Naseema had experienced vomiting and diarrhoea before she died on February 8, after which her nephew sent an email to Naseema’s son, Yaseen, informing him about the death.

“We came to know about the death when Yaseen came from the UK on Saturday night and informed us,” said Gabaji Chimte, senior police inspector, Saki Naka police station. “Our team visited the hotel room and recovered the body, which was almost decomposed. We sent the body to Rajawadi Hospital for a post-mortem and have registered an Accidental Death Report.”

Chimte said that as per the preliminary investigation, there was no foul play involved. “We are probing all possible angles to know the exact cause of death and how the family stayed with the decomposed body for 10 days,” he said.

Another police officer revealed that the email to Yaseen was written on the same day that Naseema died. “The family did not inform anyone else, not even the hotel staff and other family members,” he said. “They stayed with the decomposed body with the door closed all the time. We are not sure how they managed to hide the stench. We are recording their statements and those of the hotel staffers.”

According to the police, the mother-daughter duo earlier lived in Jogeshwari and moved out of their house 21 months ago after a fight with Naseema’s husband. Since then, the five members of the family have been living in different hotels in the city.

To earn money, Naseema used to give tuitions, in which her daughter, a law graduate, was helping her. Yaseen was studying in the UK and also working part-time to help out his mother financially in the last few months.

The body was taken to Rajawadi Hospital late on Saturday night, where the post-mortem was conducted by forensic expert Dr S P Shinde. According to sources at the hospital, the body was completely decomposed. “Looking at the decomposition, the death appears to have taken place more than six days ago,” said a senior doctor from the forensic department. “We have sent viscera samples to the Kalina forensic laboratory for further investigation. The preliminary post-mortem report is inconclusive.”

Meanwhile, the police have admitted Naseema’s daughter to the psychiatry ward of R N Cooper Hospital. But later she was shifted to a hospital in Jogeshwari for treatment.“She seems to be mentally unstable and has been hospitalised for further treatment,” said a police official.