Former corporator commits ‘suicide’

FORMER corporator Noorjahan Shaikh (47) allegedly committed suicide at her Govandi residence in the wee hours of Monday. Shaikh, who was the corporator from Shivaji Nagar ward twice representing the Samajwadi Party, was found hanging in her room by her children on Monday morning. She was rushed to the local Rajawadi hospital where she was declared dead. The local Shivaji Nagar police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the matter. Shaikh’s daughter Ayesha is now the corporator from the ward.

Senior Inspector of Shivaji Nagar police station Deepak Pagare said that the incident in question came to light around 8.30 am on Monday. Normally, Shaikh wakes up early and generally comes to the living room. However, on Monday she did not come out of her room as usual. When her children – three sons – went to check on her, they found that the door to her room was locked. “Worried, the children started knocking at the door exhorting her to open the door. There was no response. One of them peeped through a gap in the door and saw that she had hung herself from the ceiling fan,” Pagare said.

The siblings then broke open the door to find their mother hanging from the ceiling fan. She was rushed to the nearby Rajawadi hospital where she was declared dead. The local Shivaji Nagar police station was informed after which an Accidental Death Report (ADR) was registered by the police. Pagare said, “There was no suicide note found. No one has made any allegations against anyone. We have also recorded the statement of Noorjahan’s father who resides nearby. He too has told us that she was doing fine and does not know why she would commit suicide.”

“We have found that there were some differences between the deceased and her husband Rafique recently which led to frequent fights. However, there is no clarity on what pushed her to commit suicide. Currently the family is in a state of shock. We will record their statement in a few days time to get some clarity on the cause of death,” an officer added. Shaikh’s husband Rafique has over 16 cases registered against him, from extortion to rioting.