The case of Lufthansa air hostess Anissia Batra, who is said to have jumped off the terrace of her Panchsheel Park residence on Friday, July 13, is getting murkier by the day. The police have now said that about two hours before her death, Anissia had sent a few text messages to a friend saying that she would kill herself.
The officer, on condition of anonymity, said that the air hostess had sent a few messages seeking help and had also asked the friend to call the police. She clearly mentioned that her husband Mayank Singhvi had locked her up in a room.
At 2:56 pm on July 13, Anissia sent a WhatsApp message to her friend, which said: "He [Mayank] has locked me inside room. Please call police. Please come if you can. I am locked up..." reported India Today.
She then sent another text minutes later saying that Mayank was sitting outside the locked room and guarding it. "Finally I got my phone, I am at N 116... I need help.. he [Mayank] is sitting outside guarding my room..." The friend then replied and explained that she couldn't come immediately, but asked her to get in touch with another friend, who was closer to where Anissia was locked up and would reach her sooner.
However, it looks like Anissia never got in touch with the second friend and instead decided to kill herself. At 4.12 pm, she sent another message to the friend in which she confirmed that she was going to kill herself.
"I am going to kill myself today because Mayank has driven me to it. He finally let me out but I can't repair what he has done to me," her last message read.
During the interrogation, Mayank said that Anissia had sent him a message saying she was going to take her life. He said that after he received the message, he rushed to the terrace, but she had already jumped by then. He then said he took her to a hospital, but she was declared dead.
Meanwhile, Anissia's family has alleged that she couldn't have killed herself and that the Singhvi family was behind it. Anissia's mother Neelam Batra also said that Mayank was, in fact, a divorcee and had hidden this aspect of his life from Anissia and her family.
"The abuse began during the couple's honeymoon itself. Singhvi beat her up in the room and lobby of the hotel they were staying at. She had to move to safety at a friend's place and returned to India alone," Neelam said in her complaint to the police, reported Hindustan Times.
Neelam added that the harassment never really ended and that Mayank continued abusing her daughter over the two years even though his family assured Anissia's parents that he would mend his ways. "Singhvi would drink and beat my daughter," she said.
With the case becoming very mysterious, a second autopsy was carried out as the first one wasn't videographed. The second procedure is said to have confirmed the findings of the first autopsy and hinted that she had jumped off the terrace and wasn't pushed.
She had sustained 15 injuries, but an injury to the neck killed her instantaneously.
"The doctors, who had carried out the autopsy, spoke to Anissia's family and explained to them the nature of her injuries to remove their doubts," the Press Trust of India quoted an investigating officer as saying.
