Sheth was cheerful days before suicide: neighbour

Raj Travels founder Lalit Sheth’s neighbours cannot believe the 56-year-old committed suicide as he was cheerful and friendly just three days before the incident.

Raj Travels founder Lalit Sheth’s neighbours cannot believe the 56-year-old committed suicide as he was cheerful and friendly just three days before the incident.

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“I spoke to Sheth three days before the suicide. I did not see any sign of stress in him. He was as jovial as ever. If such a jolly person takes such an extreme decision, something might have gone really wrong. We expect the police to get to the bottom of the case,” a resident of Gandhi building at Girgaum, where the Sheth family lives, said, requesting anonymity.

The family, comprising Sheth’s wife, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, lives on the second floor of the five-storeyed building. The building has only one flat on each floor and one of the neighbours said they are closely knit society.

For residents of the society, the Mahashivratri celebrations at the Sheth residence every year were an occasion for a get-together. “Sheth was an extremely religious person. There is a majestic statue of Lord Shiva in his house,” the neighbour said.

“Lalit was a down-to-earth person and very committed to his business. We will always remember him like that.”

Sheth’s body was released from Sion hospital around 7am, after which the funeral rites took place at the Chandanwadi crematorium around 8.30am, in the presence of his family and friends.