Mumbai: Father, son kill selves alleging torture over disputed land

Edwin D’Souza and Kunal D’Souza

A father and son duo hanged themselves in their house at Vasai on Friday, alleging torture by 12 people whose names they mentioned in separate suicide notes. The Vasai police registered an FIR against the 12 and arrested three of them on Friday evening. The deceased, Edwin D'Souza and his son Kunal, who were found hanging, wrote that they were harassed in a dispute over land they owned.

The police said that Kunal wrote his suicide note in English while his father, Edwin, wrote his in Marathi.

The police said Edwin D' Souza wrote his suicide note in Marathi while Kunal wrote his in English. Pic/Hanif Patel

They said that Kunal used to edit the videos shot by the four people he has accused in his suicide note. The four allegedly made videos about disputed land in Vasai and put them on social media. The police said they told Kunal they would make a video about the land his family owned and which was in a dispute, and said they would help him resolve it. But instead they tortured him over it. The police said Edwin was tortured about the land by eight of their relatives whom he mentioned in his suicide note.

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The police told mid-day that the father - son duo hadn't eaten for the past four-five days and had locked themselves in a room. According to the police Edwin's wife had gone to her relative's house in Chembur a few days ago. Late on Thursday night Edwin called her and asked her to come home in the morning as it was very urgent. When she arrived the door was locked and nobody opened it. She informed neighbours and the police, and when the door was opened the duo were found hanging by the ceiling fan in the hall. The bodies were sent for post mortem and the police registered an FIR against the 12 people for blackmailing and torturing the father and son. The police also detained two people whose names are mentioned in the suicide notes. They said one of the alleged accused is an MNS worker and another is a doctor.

Senior Inspector Ranjeet Andhale of Vasai police station said, "We have registered the FIR against 12 people who blackmailed and tortured the deceased father and son. We have also detained two people in this matter and are investigating it further." The police refused to reveal more details.