Thane: In connection with the death of environmentalist-activist-lawyer Sarita Khanchandani, who allegedly died by suicide on Thursday after jumping from the seventh floor of Roma Building where she lived in Ulhasnagar, her husband Purshottam Khanchandani has leveled serious allegations against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and his associate accusing them of harassing his wife and trying to implicate her in a fabricated case.

He claimed that the harassment drove her to suicide and demanded that the case be probed by a senior officer under judicial supervision.

Purshottam, along with other family members, addressed a press conference to present his side of the story. He said Sarita had been helping Jiya Goplani, a woman whose domestic case she was handling. After being ousted by her in-laws, Goplani had no shelter, and Sarita allowed her to live in one of her homes for six years, providing food and support.

Although the court awarded Goplani a monthly maintenance of Rs 15,000, Sarita eventually asked her to vacate the house. Goplani assured her that she was looking for a house in Badlapur and would leave within two months.

According to Purshottam, on Wednesday, Goplani called Sarita claiming she was unwell. When Sarita went to meet her around 11:45 p.m., she found nearly 20 people present. Purshottam alleged that this was a conspiracy to trap Sarita, and a video of the incident later surfaced on the social media.

Although the police were called to the spot, both Sarita and Goplani told officers they had no complaints, after which Sarita returned home.

However, Purshottam alleged that later the same night, Goplani, along with a politician and others, went to the police station and registered a case against Sarita. Shocked by the development, Sarita went to the police station on Thursday but later returned home and jumped to her death from the terrace.

He also accused the Vithalwadi police station of facilitating the conspiracy to falsely implicate her. He clarified that Goplani was not a tenant but was staying at their residence purely on humanitarian grounds.

Purshottam linked the incident to an earlier dispute, alleging that the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and his associate had encroached upon a government toilet block. Sarita had filed a petition in the High Court against the encroachment, after which the Shiv Sena Shakha on the premises was shut down and the property handed back to the municipal corporation.

In response to Purshottam’s allegations, Jiya Gopalani refused all allegations and stated that she was his wife’s tenant and that Sarita forced her to work according to her instructions; otherwise, she would not fight her domestic case in court.

“On Wednesday, Sarita came to my home because I was not picking up her call. Sarita arrived at my home and assaulted me badly, after which I visited the police station and filed a case against her.”

DCP Sachin Gore of Ulhasnagar said “Based on Jiya Goplani’s complaint, we filed a case of trespass and assault against Sarita. In Sarita’s suicide matter, no note was found. So far, we have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) . We will record the statements of witnesses. Further investigation is underway, and if anyone’s role emerges, action will take accordingly.”

Sarita Khanchandani, a practicing lawyer, was known for her environmental activism and had played a significant role in getting DJs banned in Maharashtra.

She also ran the Heerali Foundation, an organization dedicated to cleaning up the Ulhas and Waldhuni rivers that flow through Ulhasnagar. She was a prominent figure in pollution activism in the city, petitioning police to act against violators and raising awareness of environmental issues affecting the rivers.

Mumbai Maloni Police has claimed to have arrested five accused including ganja worth Rs 72 lakhs and a country-made pistol and live cartridges. In Maloni, the police had arrested Ashiq Hussain Khan with 1 kg 60 grams of ganja. He said that he buys this drug from Nashik. After that, Santosh More of Nashik was arrested. After that, a total of four accused were arrested in this case and a case was registered against them under the NDPS Act. A car was searched in Maloni Madh in which a country-made pistol and ganja were recovered. This operation was carried out by DCP Sandeep Jadhav on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti. The police is investigating the matter further.

Normal civic system remained disrupted for the second day due to the hunger strike of Mumbai Maratha Morcha and Manoj Jaranje. Travelling towards South Mumbai was difficult as traffic on Fort and other roads was affected due to Maratha Morcha protesters. There is a crowd of protesters from the Maratha community at CST railway stations. In such a situation, it is common news that food and water have been completely stopped for Maratha protesters in Mumbai and food stalls and hotels have been closed here, but this news is false and baseless as all the stalls and hotels on Mumbai STS are open and food is available for the protesters. On the other hand, BMC has claimed to have made arrangements for cleanliness and other facilities and clean drinking water for the protesters. Mud has been cleaned during the rains, not only this, a temporary toilet van has also been deployed. Mumbai Police and additional forces are also deployed at Azad Maidan.

The BJP has called the news on its social media account baseless that shops and hotels have been closed due to Maratha Morcha. Meanwhile, photos and videos have also been released from the official handle of BJP. Along with this, BMC has also released videos and pictures of the cleaning campaign and said that it has provided facilities to the Maratha protesters.

All the food stalls around Mumbai CST are open. The news of the stalls being closed is false and baseless. People of the Maratha community are protesting by taking tea and snacks from these stalls. To prove how anti-Maratha the government is, those demanding reservation and those who have not given reservation for 50 years are running their hidden agenda. People are facing problems even on the second day of the protest in Mumbai. Roads in many areas of Mumbai are filled with the Maratha community. In such a situation, there is a traffic jam in Mumbai and the Morcha has also affected the local trains, which are called the lifeline of Mumbai city. Train services are affected and trains on central lines are running late by 10 to 15 minutes. Maratha Morcha protesters have also camped at CST railway station. In such a situation, there is a lot of crowd at CST and police force has also been deployed to control it. Along with this, today also the protesters tried to sit on some roads, which were later removed so that the road and traffic system is not affected. Today Home Minister Amit Shah has also visited the palace of Lalbagh Raja. Along with this, Ganpati immersion Ganesh Utsav and Maratha Morcha are challenges for the police. The police is handling the situation well and in such a situation the police has tightened security in Mumbai. Amit Shah has visited Lalbagh Raja amidst tight security of Mumbai Police. During this, BJP leader and minister Advocate Ashish Shelar was also present. Amit Shah along with his wife visited Lalbagh Raja and took blessings.