Navy Nagar Deaths: Sailor's Wife Had Feared Harm a Week Prior, Police Say
A week before she was found dead alongside her husband and two young children at their official residence in Navy Nagar, an Indian Navy sailor's wife had told her father that she feared her husband might kill her and their children, Mumbai police said.
The 30-year-old sailor, his wife, their three-year-old child, and their two-month-old baby were discovered dead inside their Navy Nagar home on Sunday. Police suspect the incident was a murder-suicide, in which the sailor killed his family before dying by suicide.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Manish Kalwaniya, the woman had phoned her father about a week before the incident. She expressed fear that her husband, who had been undergoing treatment for depression for several months, might harm the family. Following the call, her father travelled to Mumbai to take his daughter and grandchildren away. However, the sailor allegedly engaged in an argument with him and prevented the family from leaving.
Investigators stated that the couple, who were originally from Rajasthan, had been married for nearly four years and frequently quarrelled. Relations between the two families were strained, with the woman coming from a financially weaker background. Apart from the sailor's mother, no members of either family had visited Mumbai to see the newborn daughter.
Police confirmed that the sailor had been undergoing medical care for depression for several months and frequently spoke about death. Investigators suspect that the sailor may have killed his wife and children first before taking his own life in an adjoining room a day later. Evidence suggests he cleaned the other room, wiped data from his mobile phone, and barricaded the door of the room where he died by placing a bed against it to block entry.
The exact manner of the deaths has not yet been established. Foaming was observed around the mouths of all four individuals, leading police to suspect poisoning or the administration of a lethal substance via injection. Post-mortem examinations have not produced conclusive causes of death.
The Cuffe Parade police are currently awaiting forensic analysis reports on viscera samples. Investigators have also sent food and water samples collected from the residence to the forensic science laboratory in Kalina to verify whether poisoning occurred through food or water. Officials said further action will depend on the laboratory results and data retrieved from electronic devices.
