"Spoke To Mother, Aunt Cheerfully 15 Minutes Before Death": Pilot's Uncle

The 25-year-old Air India pilot, who was found dead at her Mumbai home, spoke to her mother and her aunt 15 minutes before the family got the crushing news that she had died. Ruling out that Srishti Tuli died by suicide, the family has alleged she was murdered and accused her boyfriend Aditya Pandit of harassing and manipulating her.

"Police are saying she died by suicide. Then what did he do that pushed her to the edge? She cheerfully spoke to her mother and aunt. And 15 minutes later, she was dead. How did this happen? What did he tell her? What did he do? Police are probing this," Srishti's uncle Vivek Tuli told NDTV. Mr Tuli has filed a complaint with Mumbai Police and an FIR has been registered. Aditya has been arrested under charges of abetment to suicide.

According to police, 27-year-old Aditya has said during questioning that he left for Faridabad in his car Monday when Srishti called him and threatened to die by suicide. He rushed back and found the flat's door locked. He and another woman pilot called in a keymaker who opened the door. Srishti was found with a data cable around her neck. She was rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead. No suicide note has been found at her rented home.

The young pilot met Aditya during a commercial flying course in Delhi two years back. While she completed the course, Aditya dropped out. Srishti moved to Mumbai last year after getting her pilot's licence. Aditya lived in Faridabad near Delhi and would visit her frequently.

The pilot's family, based in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, has alleged that Aditya would harass her mentally, shouting at her in public places and also pressuring her to stop eating non-vegetarian food.

Her uncle Vivek Tuli said, "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."

Mr Tuli alleged that Aditya also extorted money from Srishti. "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. I have now asked the bank for the whole year's statement. Maybe, she had refused him money and that became the cause of her death."

Mr Tuli said Srishti had not told her family about any harassment she was facing. "She had narrated bits and pieces to her sister. But when I met her friends, they told me the extent to which he harassed her. He would scream at her publicly. There were times when he made her get out of the car in the middle of the road and drove away," he said.

He alleged that another woman pilot was involved in Srishti's death. "We came to know that another woman was there. She called in the keymaker, got him to open the door and took Srishti to the hospital. Who opens the door and enters someone's flat without calling the cops? And these are trained pilots. And why would a key maker randomly open a door from outside?"