My son wasn’t depressed when he left home, says Radhika Daga

Two days after the corpse of 17year-old Mast Daga was found at Matheran’s Garbett Point, the mystery behind his death continues to baffle his family. Mast had gone missing from his Raheja complex residence at Wagle Estate in Thane on Monday. Speaking to the Free Press Journal, his mother Radhika said, “Mast seemed fine when he left home on Monday morning. There were no visible signs of depression. He did not have any substance addictions. Mast had neither discussed any of his problems with his friends nor discussed any of his plans to visit Matheran. Me and my husband Naresh are absolutely clueless regarding the reason behind our son’s death.”

The police are yet to recover Mast’s mobile phone and college bag that he was carrying. Mast had withdrawn Rs 500 from an ATM at Mulund and switched off his mobile phone on Monday.

According to Ravindra Malekar, Senior Police Inspector, Wagle Estate police station, “We are yet to recover the mobile phone and the bag. It is yet to be established if this is a suicide case.”

Mast was well acquainted with Matheran since he had made several trips to the hill station. Mast was spotted on a Karjat-bound local train on Tuesday by a commuter who had boarded the train from Kurla. The commuter had then called Mast’s father, who immediately informed the police about his whereabouts.

On December 11 at 8.00 am, Mast boarded a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)-bound train to attend lectures at St. Xavier’s College. His parents registered a missing complaint on December 12. Mast’s parents had scanned CCTV footage of the main entrance of the college and even the footage towards the exit in direction of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of the subway at CST station but didn’t spot him. As per his daily routine, Mast had also notattended his tuition classes at Mulund on Monday.

Mast seemed fine when he left home on Monday morning. There were no visible signs of depression. He did not have any substance addictions. Mast had neither discussed any of his problems with his friends nor discussed any plans to visit Matheran. Me and my husband, Naresh, are absolutely clueless regarding the reason behind ou r son’s death. - RADHIKA DAGA