Minor girl, boyfriend jump to death in Mumbai after parents oppose marriage

A 16-year-old girl and her 21-year-old boyfriend reportedly committed suicide by jumping off a hill in Samta Nagar area of Mumbai, officials said on Saturday.

A senior official of the Mumbai Police said that the deceased couple were neigbours who lived in Kandivali East Janupada area. The man—identified as Akash Jhate (21) worked as a housekeeper, while the girl, 16, who was a student—had fallen in love and wanted to get married.

However, their families opposed the match, leading to the couple taking such a drastic measure, he said.

According to an official statement by the Mumbai Police, a call was received from Janupada Mine in Samta Nagar police station at around 12:30 pm on Friday afternoon informing that two bodies were lying there.

A team of officer of Samta Nagar police reached the scene of the incident to take stock of the incident and recovered the bodies of the couple, the statement said, adding that the bodies were sent for post-mortem examination.

Giving details, it said that the girl had gone to bed at her house the previous night, according to her parents. But the parents found her missing from her room in the morning.

The family search for the minor girl but were unable to locate and subsequently informed the cops at the Samta Nagar Police Station following which a case of abduction was registered against the girl’s boyfriend on the basis of their complaint, the statement said.

Accordingly, an investigation was launched into the incident by the police and it was revealed that the minor girl had left her house with her boyfriend in the morning, it said, adding that the man had sent a text message to his family from his mobile phone saying: ‘I am leaving and will never return.”

An official said that a case has been registered in this regard and further investigation is ongoing.