Elderly woman dies in a suicide pact, husband survives attempt

MUMBAI: An elderly woman died and her husband was admitted to the hospital after the couple from Borivali tried to end their lives in a suicide pact by overdosing on sleeping pills.

The two were found unconscious by their son on Thursday morning.

The woman (76) was pronounced dead when the two were rushed to Seven Star Hospital in Kandivali East. Her husband, who is 77 years old, has been admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital.

According to the Kasturba Marg police, the couple identified as Dattaram Surve and Savita Surve lived in Ratnakar Co-operative Housing Society at Tata Power House in Borivali East.

The couple stayed alone while their son stayed on the second floor of the same building.

The couple’s son Sachin Surve on Thursday at 6.15am went up to his parent’s house to serve them breakfast as he did every day. He began ringing the bell but did not get any response from his parents.

Assuming that something was wrong, Sachin asked his neighbours to help him open the door with the spare keys kept with them. He then saw his parents lying on the bed unresponsive.

Sachin told the police that when he tried to move his father, he responded but could not speak clearly.

The couple was then rushed to the Seven Star Hospital where his mother was declared brought dead, while his father was admitted to the ICU.

“Dattaram is not in a condition to speak. However, we are waiting for him to regain consciousness to record his statement,” said a police officer from Kasturba Marg police station. The officer added that Sachin’s statement revealed that the couple was frustrated due to prolonged illness.

While Dattaram was suffering from a heart ailment for the past 25 years and a pacemaker was installed in his heart, yet, his heart rate had slowed down. He had also gone through a hernia operation in 2020. Savita was a diabetic patient for 15 years and had lost her eyesight.

“The couple was in constant pain and was frustrated,” said the officer.

The police have registered a case of Accidental Death Report and are investigating further. “We are also awaiting the doctor’s report to find out which pills were consumed by the couple,” said the officer.