MUMBAI: A month after losing her husband to Covid, a homemaker and former journalist ended her life along with her seven-year-old son early Monday. Both jumped off their 12th floor apartment in Chandivali’s Nahar Amrit Shakti complex.
Reshma Trenchil (44) is said to have been depressed after the death of her husband, Sarat Mulukutla (49), on May 23. Also, in a suicide note, Trenchil has alleged harassment by her neighbours. “A case of abetment to suicide has been registered against the Khan family who were Trenchil’s neighbours,” said Sakinaka senior inspector Balwant Deshmukh. No arrest had been made till late Tuesday.
Police said the Khan family had earlier filed two non-cognizable offences against Trenchil. They had alleged they were getting disturbed due to the noise caused by her son, Garud, while playing in the house. Police had called both families for counselling in early May.
The family had moved into the rental apartment at Tulipia building on April 10. Soon after, Trenchil’s husband went to Varanasi to tend to his parents who had tested Covid-positive and later died. However, he too succumbed to the virus. Trenchil had spoken about her loss in a Facebook post on May 30: “I suppose it was inevitable that an almost mythical being like him would meet a heroic if tragic end…Even after contracting Covid, he soldiered on for over a week. He continued the good fight for another three weeks from a hospital bed, struggling to breathe, but determined to return to us in Mumbai. Unfortunately, the evil virus won that particular battle.”
Trenchil graduated from the Asian College of Journalism and worked with The Statesman. She later studied at Boston University. Trenchil’s brother will be coming from the US to conduct the last rites.