Malaika Arora’s stepfather Anil Mehta dies; said ‘I am tired’ before ending his life
The postmortem process was underway at a hospital, the police said
Actor Malaika Arora arrives at her stepfather Anil Mehta's residence in Bandra in Mumbai after he died by suicide by jumping from a building, in Mumbai, Wednesday, September 11. PTI
Bollywood actor Malaika Arora’s stepfather Anil Mehta died by suicide by jumping off a building in Mumbai on Wednesday morning (September 11), police said.
According to reports, Mehta had called both his stepdaughters Malaika and Amrita Arora Ladak and told them “I am tired”.
The actor’s father allegedly jumped off the sixth floor of a building in Bandra area at around 9 am, a police official said.
A team of Bandra police rushed to the spot and shifted him to a hospital, where he was declared dead before arrival. The exact reason behind the incident was not yet known, the official said, adding an investigation was underway.
Police conducted 'panchnama' (inspection) of the spot and have started collecting evidence, he said.
They also video-recorded the building premises, where the body was recovered, as part of the procedure, the official said.
The police also examined CCTV footage of the building premises to ascertain details of the incident, he said.
The postmortem process was underway at a hospital, the police said.
Later, speaking to the media, Raj Tilak Roshan, DCP, Mumbai crime branch, said, “Body of one Anil Mehta was found. He resided on the 6th floor. We are carrying out further investigation and our team is here. We are investigating all angles in detail. Our teams are here, forensic teams are here as well...Body is being taken for postmortem. We are investigating everything in detail...Prima facie it seems to be suicide, we are conducting further investigation.”
After getting information about the incident, Malaika’s former husband Arbaaz Khan, who is also an actor and producer, visited the building.
Arbaaz’s parents Salim Khan and Salma Khan, brother Sohail Khan, Malaika’s son Arhaan Khan, her former boyfriend actor Arjun Kapoor and producer Ritesh Sidhwani arrived at the residence of Malaika’s mother Joyce Polycarp.
Several Bollywood celebrities including Arbaaz’s stepmother Helen, his sister Alvira Agnihotri, Sohail Khan’s former wife Seema Sajdeh, and actors Kim Sharma and Shibani Dandekar were also present.
(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Neha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050; Aasara helpline for suicide prevention, emotional support & trauma help — +91-9820466726; Kiran, Mental health rehabilitation — 1800-599-0019, Disha 0471- 2552056, Maithri 0484 2540530, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)