New Delhi: "It is not suicide... it is cold-blooded, planned murder" - strong words from Vivek Tuli, the uncle of 25-year-old Srishti Tuli, the Air India pilot found dead at her Mumbai apartment Wednesday.
Srishti Tuli was "a lively and bold girl", he also said, describing her as being very motivated by her grandfather, a soldier who died for his country in the 1971 war. "She wanted to be a fighter pilot but her daadi did not allow her to go into the armed forces. So, she said being a commercial pilot is also wearing a uniform and so she chose that option."
Ms Tuli's uncle spoke to NDTV to protest vehemently against the police's claim his niece died by suicide. "... see, Srishti was very happy at 11.30, when she called her mother and said everything is very good. She said she had come back from a flight and had to fly again in a few days. In the CCTV feed also, which police showed me, she was so happy going upstairs with that guy..."
"What happened in 15-20 minutes that she took such a step? Can it happen? Such a happy girl and, after 15 minutes, she is no more... How can that happen?" Mr Tuli thundered, pointing out that commercial pilots like his niece are trained to cope with immense mental pressure.
"They are very well-trained with to deal with pressure... they are mentally very strong. How can they be afraid of something? It is not suicide... it is cold-blooded, planned murder," he said.
Srishti Tuli's body was found by her boyfriend, 27-year-old Aditya Pandit.
According to the cops, Ms Tuli called Mr Pandit - on his way to Delhi by road - early Monday to declare she would die by suicide. Mr Pandit has claimed he rushed back but found the door of Ms Tuli's flat locked. Mr Pandit and another pilot, who stayed in the same building, called a locksmith and forced the door open, to find Ms Tuli's body hanging from the ceiling.
She was taken to a nearby hospital but to no avail.
Mr Pandit has been arrested on charges of abetting suicide after complaints from Ms Tuli's family, which include claims he was extorting money. "We have managed to check only one month's bank statement so far. Around Diwali, about Rs 65,000 was transferred to his family members. I am convinced that he was blackmailing her," Mr Tuli told NDTV earlier.
Speaking to NDTV this morning, Mr Tuli also questioned the sequence of events - which included a fight between the couple after he refused to stay on for a few more days - as described by Mr Pandit, that led up to Ms Tuli's body being found.
"She called at 2.30... police told me she had a video call with Aaditya Pandit," he said, referring to police sources who have said the couple had a video call moments before her alleged suicide. "So why didn't he (Mr Pandit) call her back (after he received Ms Tuli's call warning she was about to take an extreme step) ... why didn't he call his friend in the same building to go check on her? Why call someone living three kilometres away? Please think of that."
Mr Tuli also said he had full faith in the Mumbai Police to solve this crime, pointing out progress made in discovering that Mr Pandit had allegedly deleted some chats from his niece's phone.
His own phone has been sent to forensic experts.