Mumbai, Apr 28: A Jet Airwaysemployee undergoing treatment for stomach cancer died after jumping off the terrace of his four-storey building in Nalasopara on Friday afternoon, a day after he was discharged from hospital.
Police suspect Shailesh Singh (52), a senior technician, committed suicide as “he was suffering from depression”.
Singh, who was on a leave without pay for over a year, had been with Jet, which temporarily shut on April 17, for over 23 years. Inspector Daniel Ben of Tuling police told media that Singh’s family said he was depressed due to his ailment and his son, who too is employed in Jet’s engineering department, had not received salary for two months.
Residents of the building saw Singh, a fourth-floor resident of Sai Pooja building, sitting on the terrace parapet minutes before he jumped off around 3.30pm, said Tuling police. Singh fell into a drain that runs alongside railway tracks parallel to the building.
A source in the Jet Aircraft Maintenance Engineers’ Association said that Singh was financially drained due to the mounting treatment expenses. “While he was on leave without pay, his son Saurabh (23) was bearing the burden of the household. A few months ago, the staff had collected money for Singh’s treatment,” he said. He is survived by his wife and four children.
A member of the association, requesting anonymity, said that Singh’s suicide was a fallout of the Jet crisis. He said that many employees and their families were finding it difficult to meet medical expenses.
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