Ahmedabad: A 42-year-old woman was rescued from the parapet of Subhash Bridge on the Sabarmati river in the city on Monday evening by the 181 Abhayam Women Helpline. The Abhayam team and the police were alerted by onlookers.
It was discovered that the woman intended to end her life by jumping into the river from the very spot where her 18-year-old daughter died by suicide two months ago.
"The woman told us that her husband works in a factory, and they have three children. Her eldest daughter, who was 18, died by suicide in September, a day before her birthday. She has two more children — a 12-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy," said an Abhayam counsellor.
The girl who committed suicide was a nursing student and scored good marks in her Class 10 and 12. "The family was happy for her bright prospects," the counsellor added.
"The woman told us that she had bought new clothes and gifts for her daughter's birthday. But without telling anyone, she jumped to her death," she said, adding that the young girl showed no signs of distress, left no explanatory note, nor voiced any complaints about troubling circumstances.
"The woman claimed that she met the police officials regularly in the past two months but did not get any satisfactory response. We approached the cops, who said they analysed the call records and are also investigating the matter, but have not come across anything substantial," said the counsellor.
The Abhayam response team counselled the woman and urged her to focus on her surviving children rather than grieving for her departed daughter. "We also told her to approach senior police officials and not to lose hope. We understand that as a mother, she needs closure in the case, and told her that her death would not solve the issue," added the counsellor.