BANDEL: National diver Moupriya
Mitra, 16, was found hanging in her room in the Manaspur locality of Hooghly’s
Bandel around 11.30am on Monday. The diver had won a gold and a silver at the 2016 South Asian Aquatics Championship in Colombo and was set to participate in the National games in Pune in June.
Mitra had gone to practice at Chinsurah on Monday morning as was her routine. She returned home in the heavy rain around 11am and locked herself in her ground-floor room. Her parents Bhaskar and Subhra were on the first floor of their two-storey house at the time.
Barely half an hour later, when Mitra’s parents called her, they received no response. They called in neighbours who informed the Bandel police outpost. Cops broke open the door and found Mitra hanging with her dupatta around her neck. “My daughter was very emotional. But I don’t know what drove her to take her life,” Bhaskar said.
Mitra had won the highboard gold in the 2016 South Asian Aquatics Championship and a silver in the 3m springboard event. The
Hooghly Girls’ School student won the high-board gold, the 3m springboard silver and the 1m springboard bronze in the 2016 junior national aquatics championships. And in the National Schools’ Aquatic championships, she won gold for high board and a silver for the 3m springboard.
The only daughter of a small businessman, she had appeared for her Madhyamik examination this year.
Neighbours said Mitra was addicted to social media chats. Though the family has not lodged a complaint, police have registered an unnatural death case and sent the body to Chinsurah Imambara Hospital for autopsy. Police are investigating if she had an affair with any one and whether that had left her emotionally disturbed. Chandernagore police commissioner Ajoy Kumar said, “We are investigating the diver’s suicide.” Mitra did not leave behind any suicide note.
Debabrata Dutta, a neighbour, said, “I spoke to her yesterday. She addressed me as uncle and told me she would practise harder after her exam results came out. I have seen her grow up. I can’t imagine how a girl like her could take her own life. Anyone who abetted her suicide in any way should be punished.”
Representative image