Singh, suffering from cancer, hadn’t got his salary since MarchA senior technician of grounded airline Jet Airways committed suicide on Friday afternoon, jumping off the terrace of his home in the Mumbai suburb of Nallasopara.
Police said Shailesh Kumar Singh, 53, had been suffering from stomach cancer for the last three years and that his condition had worsened over the last four months. Singh had not received his salary since March, they said.
Singh, who had been admitted to hospital for his chemotherapy, was brought home on Friday morning.
A police officer investigating the case said Singh was suffering from “severe stomach ache” when he climbed to the terrace of the four-storey building. “People spotted him on the terrace and alerted the fire brigade, but by then, he had jumped into a gutter by the side of the building,” the officer said, adding that Singh was the chairman of the building association.
Singh leaves behind his wife, two sons and two daughters.
According to Avinash Mohite of the All India Jet Airways’ Officers and Staff Association, Singh’s elder son Saurabh Singh, 23, worked in the operations department of Jet Airways. Singh, he said, had worked with the airlines for the last 15 years.
“Both had not received their salaries since March, putting additional burden on the family,” said Kiran Pawaskar, president of the staff association.
This is the first suicide by a Jet Airways employee since the cash-strapped Jet Airways halted all flight operations on April 17. The airlines has delayed payment of salaries to thousands of its employees.
Police have lodged a case of accidental death. “His family says he was depressed. However, we are checking all possibilities. No suicide note has been found as of now,” said a senior police officer.
