The 21-year-old used the service pistol of his father, Arvind Sawant, to shoot himself in the head at their Tilak Nagar residence. The 21-year-old son of a senior Crime Branch officer committed suicide at their Tilak Nagar residence early on Wednesday, when he shot himself in the head using his father’s service pistol.
The victim, Tejas Sawant, was a final year B.Sc student at Matunga’s Ruparel College. His father, Senior Inspector Arvind Sawant, was transferred to Crime Branch (Unit III) from the Anti-Terrorism Squad around a year ago. The Tilak Nagar Police, which registered a case of accidental death, has come across a clue that could reveal the reason behind the suicide.
An investigating officer said, “Tejas’s Whatsapp messenger status read: ‘One more day… No more forever. U will miss me’. We are speaking to his friends and batch mates, and hopefully, will be able to find out why he took his life.” According to police, the Sawants had shifted to the two-BHK Tilak Nagar apartment less than a month ago.
The family realised Tejas had killed himself only when his mother found him in a pool of blood around 7 am. Deputy Commissioner of Police Mahesh Ghurye said, “Sawant told us he had no idea that Tejas had taken away his pistol, which he had kept in a bag. He said it was raining heavily and he did recall hearing a bang, but didn’t realise it was a gunshot.”
The couple, who also have a daughter, told police that Tejas didn’t show any signs of depression, and as per his routine, went to bed around 11 pm. “Prima facie, it appears Tejas had planned to kill himself well in advance. The family is clueless regarding the motive,” Ghurye said. Police have also found that Tejas was in the process of changing his college, and had secured admission in Dadar’s Kirti College.
A senior officer from Tilak Nagar Police Station said, “He was supposed to submit admission fees on Thursday. We managed to unlock his mobile phone in the evening, and hopefully, the call records will provide us with clues.” According to police, it doesn’t appear that Tejas had problems with his family.
Additional Commissioner of Police Qaiser Khalid said, “Even his family doesn’t know why he wanted to shift to another college. Maybe, he was facing problems on the campus. His friends’ statements could solve the mystery.”
