Airhostess’ lover held for abetting her suicide

Co-pilot Arjun Menon was the last person who met Sucheta

MUMBAI: An Indigo Airlines co-pilot was arrested by the Santa Cruz police on Thursday in connection with the suicide of airhostess Sucheta Anand, who was found hanging in a suburban hotel on Sunday.

Arjun Menon, 30, was the last person to have met Sucheta before she committed suicide on June 8 in Room 311 of Hotel Palm Grove in Juhu. He has been held on the charge of abetting the suicide.

Senior inspector Dilip Gaikwad said Menon told the police he knew Sucheta for the past year and a half and they were in love. Police believe that the day before Sucheta committed suicide she and Menon met for dinner and had an argument over marriage. This upset Sucheta, who was already going through a bad relationship with her husband, and she decided to end her life. She was found hanging with a sari from the ceiling fan at 2pm the following day.

Manish Anand, Sucheta’s brother, lodged a complaint with the Santa Cruz police on Thursday suspecting that Menon had a role in her death, after which police picked him up from his Chandivali residence in the afternoon.

“A team of officers went to his house and brought him to the Santa Cruz police station,” Gaikwad said. “After three hours of questioning, Menon was arrested on the charge of abetting the suicide.”
Menon will be produced in court on Friday.

Indigo officials said they were fully co-operating with the police.  They, however, declined to comment on Menon’s arrest.

Who is Arjun?
Arjun Menon, a resident of Chandivali near Powai, divorced his wife a few years ago. After graduating from Pune University in 2002, he joined Indigo Airlines two years ago as a co-pilot. A year-and-a-half ago, Sucheta Anand joined the airlines as airhostess. Menon got friendly with Sucheta, who, too, was going through a troubled marriage with businessman Sumit Virmani. The two gradually became close.

On the fateful day
According to the police, Arjun Menon had called Sucheta Anand to meet him at the Palm Grove hotel on June 8, a Saturday. “At around 3pm, Sucheta came to the hotel and they met in Room 311,” said Gaikwad. “They had a heated argument, after which Menon left at around 5.30pm. An hour and a half later, Anand hanged herself in the room,” Gaikwad said.

According to a police officer, the food in the room was half-eaten, which first raised the suspicion of a heated argument. Police have sent Sucheta’s viscera for forensic examination.

Police are trying to gather evidence scientifically in the case. “We will search Menon’s house and scan his computer to see if he had sent any emails to Sucheta, which could have provoked her to take the extreme step,” said a senior officer on condition of anonymity.

“We will also check their mobile phone records so that we know what SMSes were exchanged between them. This may give us a clear picture in the case,” said
the officer. 

Family is in shock
“My daughter was strong. Ending her life is the last thing she would want to do,” said an emotional Rita Anand speaking on the telephone from Delhi.

According to Rita, Sucheta was happy and content despite her troubled relationship with husband Sumit Virmani. “She coped with the trauma and was out of it,” she said.

Sucheta had met Virmani in a shopping mall in Delhi. After several meetings, they fell in love and their parents agreed to let them get married. The Anands spent over Rs14 lakh on the wedding. But they were shocked when Virmani allegedly began harassing Sucheta for dowry.

Abetment to suicide
Abetment to suicide is punishable under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. The section says: If any person commits suicide, whoever abets (assists, encourages, or instigates) the commission of such suicide, shall be liable for punishment under this section. And if found guilty would liable for punishment with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.