A 42-year old woman drowned after falling in Kacharali lake in Thane on Monday morning.
According to the Naupada police, the deceased, Sandhya Jadhav, was a resident of Panchpakhadi in Thane, close to the lake. She used to go for a morning walk at the lake every day.
Her brother, Vinayak Kharat, said he received a call from his wife on Monday, telling him that Sandhya, who usually returned from her walk in 30 to 45 minutes, had not come back even after two hours. “I reached the lake to try and find her, and saw a crowd had gathered at the lake as a body was floating in the water. I recognised the body as my sister,” Mr. Kharat said.
Thane Municipal Corporation officials said they received a call around 8:45 a.m. and sent a fire brigade team, which removed the body from the water. The Naupada police, who were informed by Mr. Kharat, also sent a team to the spot. The police rushed Sandhya to the Thane Civil Hospital, where she was declared dead before admission.
“Sandhya’s family members have told us that she had been sick for the last few days and was under heavy medication, which is likely to have taken a toll on her mental health. The lake is surrounded by high walls, and it is impossible for anyone to fall into the water by accident,” said Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Dhumal.
Sandhya worked as a peon in a school in Thane and used to stay with her husband, who delivers newspapers for a living, and two teenaged children who study in the Thane Municipal School. She had been admitted to the Kaushalya medical centre in Panchpakhadi for five days last week due to high fever, Mr. Kharat said.
Sandhya’s body was handed over to her family after a postmortem examination, and she was cremated on Monday evening.
The police have filed an accidental death report in the case. Kacharali lake and nearby recreational areas were closed for the rest of the day.
