Air India pilot dies by suicide: Family claims boyfriend insulted her publicly, forced her to stop eating non-veg

Originally from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, Srishti Tuli had been living in Mumbai for work since June last year

The family members of the 25-year-old Air India pilot, who was found dead at her Mumbai home, have made shocking claims about her boyfriend Aditya Pandit (27) arrested by police on charges of abetment. According to them, Srishti Tuli’s boyfriend would humiliate her publicly, harass her mentally and also extort money from her.

Tuli was found dead at her rented flat in Mumbai’s Marol area. According to reports, she hanged herself using a data cable. After the incident, the police arrested her boyfriend Aditya Pandit on charges of abetment.

Pandit was taken into custody on Tuesday after one of Tuli’s relatives accused him of harassing and abusing her and forcing her to stop eating non-vegetarian food, an official told PTI citing the FIR. The suicide came to light after Pandit started his journey to Delhi by car. During the drive, Tuli called Pandit saying she would end her life. Pandit rushed to Mumbai and found the door of her flat locked from inside, the official said.

He then got the door opened with the help of a key maker and found Tuli hanging with a data cable. She was taken to the SevenHills Hospital, where doctors declared her dead. No suicide note was found in the house, the official said.

Originally from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, Tuli had been living in Mumbai for work since June last year. She met Pandit while pursuing a commercial pilot course in Delhi two years ago and got into a relationship.

Tuli’s uncle said he did not believe it was a suicide and claimed it to be a “planned murder”.  "They are saying she died by suicide, but I don't believe it. This is planned murder. She was strong, otherwise she would not be a pilot. We have come to know about her friend (Aditya), who started training with her but could not complete the course. He was jealous of her and would harass her,” her uncle Vivek Tuli told NDTV.

Sharing more details, Vivek Tuli said that merely 15 minutes before her death, she had spoken cheerfully to her mother and aunt. He also said that her bank statement revealed that there was a transaction of Rs 65,000 from Srishti’s bank account to Aditya sometime around Diwali.

Vivek also said that through her friends, he got to know that Aditya Pandit would scream at Srishti publicly. “There were times when he made her get out of the car in the middle of the road and drove away,” Vivek Tule was quoted as saying by NDTV. Her uncle further alleged that there was another woman pilot involved in Srishti’s death.

Based on the uncle’s complaint, Pandit was arrested under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhit section 108 (abetment of suicide).