GHAZIABAD: A 47-year-old woman, an assistant general manager with Steel Authority of India Ltd, allegedly committed suicide by jumping into the shaft outside her 17th-floor flat in a housing society in Indirapuram on Friday afternoon.Police said Kavita Bhutani was suffering from depression for the past one year and had been consulting doctors at a private hospital in Delhi.Kavita lived with her husband Arvind Bhutani, who heads the engineering wing of Mother Dairy in Delhi’s Patparganj, in ATS Advantage Society. The couple’s son is pursuing BTech at a college in Patiala and stays in the hostel. Her husband was away at work.The alleged suicide took place around 1.15pm in Block 14 of the housing society. Kavita apparently used a chair to get onto the railing of the lobby and jumped into the shaft. She landed on the third floor and died on the spot.Guards at ATS said they heard a loud thud and rushed up the stairs to the third-floor lobby. They found Kavita lying face down and oozing blood from the mouth. The guards subsequently informed the apartment owners’ association.Sanjay Jain, president of the association, said: “We could not identify the woman initially as her face was disfigured and she was covered in blood. We inspected each of the flats and found a chair on the 17th floor lobby, next to the railing. A pair of slippers was also lying nearby. As there are just two flats on each floor and one was locked, we realised that the victim could be Kavita Bhutani. We informed her husband Arvind Bhutani and the police.” Neighbours said the Bhutani couple had been living in the society for the past several years, but Kavita never showed any sign of depression. The couple mostly kept to themselves and spoke only when they were addressed, they added.Circle officer (Indirapuram) Ravi Kumar inspected the spot along with a team of forensic experts. No suicide note was found.“The woman was alone in the flat (1701). Her 20-year-old son Rahul is pursuing BTech at a college in Patiala, while her husband was away at work in Delhi. Prima facie, it seems to be a case of suicide. We’re anyway conducting an investigation. The body has been sent for autopsy.”Police said it seemed Kavita had come out to the lobby and jumped from there as the balcony of her flat has iron mesh all around it. Her footprints were also found on the railing in the lobby.The police said her husband Arvind had gone to work on Thursday, though he had skipped office the previous day.Kavita’s colleagues from SAIL, who had rushed to her flat after getting the news of her death, declined to speak to the media. Her husband Arvind and her parents were too shocked to speak. Other residents of the society also remained tightlipped. The couple’s son had left for home and was expected to reach Ghaziabad by Friday night.

Stay updated with all the Ghaziabad Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.