‘Stressed’ banker jumps off Atal Setu, search for body still on

MUMBAI: A 40-year-old deputy manager of a bank who was reportedly stressed over issues at his workplace jumped off the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Trans Harbour Link on Monday morning. Police and fire brigade officials conducted a search at the spot after the incident but were unable to locate the body due to low tide and poor visibility. The search will be continued on Tuesday, said police.
According to the Sewri police, the deputy manager worked with the Fort branch of a nationalised bank. Originally from Kolkata, he lived in Parel with his wife. The family had gone to Lonavala for a short trip during the weekend and had returned on Sunday. He left home again on Monday morning, telling his wife that he was headed to the bank. Later, at around 9am, in what was the last communication between the couple, he texted her to say that he had reached his office.
Thereafter, around 9.57am, the main control room of Mumbai Police received a call saying a man had stopped his sports utility vehicle (SUV) on the south-bound lane of Atal Setu and jumped into the sea.
“A police team immediately reached the spot and found the SUV parked there. The team then checked the footage and found that the man had jumped into the sea,” said Rohit Khot, senior police inspector, Sewri police station. The vehicle owner’s details, such as his name, address and mobile number, were procured with the help of the regional transport office.
When police officials found the mobile number was switched off, they visited the deputy manager’s residence in Parel.
“His wife had gone to their seven-year-old daughter’s school for a parent-teacher meeting. When she came to the police station later, we told her about the incident and showed her the spot from which her husband had jumped into the sea. We also recorded her statement, wherein she told us that he was under stress due to office work,” said the police officer.
The deputy manager, it was learnt, had lost some papers in the bank and was under severe stress after being humiliated by his seniors.
“We went through CCTV footage of Atal Setu, which indicates that he had planned to jump into the sea while going towards Navi Mumbai and had slowed down his vehicle. But since workers were putting up safety nets on the bridge, he went ahead, took a U-turn, returned via the south-bound lane and then jumped into the sea,” said the officer. The search for his body will be continued on Tuesday and an accidental death report will be registered after it is located, he said.
“A safety net is being fixed on sides of the bridge to avert such tragedies and the work is largely complete,” said the police officer.