MUMBAI: A 22-year-old’s love for a
cat and his mother’s reluctance to let him have one as a pet led to the youth allegedly attempting to kill himself by jumping of a bridge in
south Mumbai.
On Tuesday evening, Maulvik Saundalkar, who works in the merchant navy, bought a
persian cat for Rs 6,000 and took her to his Chira Bazaar home, much to his mother’s dismay. The mother refused to allow the cat as a pet in the house and this led to an argument. Maulvik left the home in a fit of rage and jumped off Meghdoot bridge near Marine Lines station. He has been admitted to Gokuldas Tejpal hospital’s ICU with multiple fractures on his left leg and blood clotting in his head. He is under observation, said the doctors.
Maulvik’s act has also brought about a change of heart in his mother, who, along with some relatives, has been camping outside the ICU with the white persian cat since he landed there. She wants Maulvik to gain consciousness so that she can tell him she is willing to keep the cat at home. Meanwhile, the cat has been tied up in a garden outside the hospital.
A cousin of Maulvik, however, said, “It was an accident. He left home in an anger and was on his bike at Marine Drive, when he accidentally fell.”
According to the Marine Drive police, Maulvik left home on his bike in an anger. “There was a heated argument between the youth and the mother. He went straight to the Meghdoot bridge, parked his motorcycle and jumped off. The bridge is at least 25ft tall. The police have made a diary entry of the incident.
It was shab-e-baraat and the police had barricaded most roads. “He could not jump off due to barricades and got caught in the cables, however, when passersby tried rescue him, he fell down,” said Vilas Gangawane, senior inspector of Marine Drive police.
“Luckily, there was no traffic movement below the bridge and he was not run over by any vehicle,” he added.
Representative image