Eight neighbours booked for hounding 75-year-old to suicide

Rajkot: Eight neighbours have been booked for abetting the March 5 suicide of a 75-year-old woman in Morbi, after the deceased's son filed a complaint with A Division police station on Wednesday.According to police, Savita Patel was a widow and lived at Satya B Apartments in the Lati Plot area. The complaint states that she took her own life, ostensibly due to continual harassment and threats from other residents of the apartment complex.Her son, Narendra Patel, filed a case against eight persons —a woman, Vilas Savsani, and seven men — under Sections 108 and 54 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, for abetment to suicide and other relevant charges.According to the complaint, Savita Patel was found hanged on the stairs leading to the maintenance room on the flat's terrace. A suicide note in her hand detailed the harassment she endured.In the note, Savita Patel allegedly wrote that Vishal Khodasara and Keval Viramgama verbally abused her for no reason and threatened to kill her whenever she stepped out. She also alleged that Vilas assaulted her by slapping her. The note explicitly states that she was exhausted by the threats and harassment by these persons. The note also mentioned other residents who allegedly threatened her.Narendra Patel told investigators that a few days earlier, one Nilesh Baraiya tried to run his mother over with a car while she was sitting in the parking area. The ordeal began a year ago, when she had an argument with some women over the washing of the parking area.This led to male residents calling and abusing Narendra and even assaulting him. While a complaint was previously filed at A Division police station, the harassment allegedly continued, specifically targeting his mother and threatening his children in his absence — a fear corroborated in the suicide note.Police began an investigation into the matter based on the complaint and the contents of the suicide note.