Bengaluru: Techie surfed net for suicide ways to end life

BENGALURU: Software engineer Geethanjali U, 27, who fell to her death from the terrace of a 10-storey building in Cessna Business Park, Kadubeesanahalli on Wednesday, had searched online on ways to commit suicide, Marathahalli police said.
Geethanjali had got engaged at her Goa home on Tuesday, which was also her birthday, they added.
Police said on November 14, Geethanjali had searched the net for ways to commit suicide.Cops are, however, yet to establish what forced her to take the extreme step. They suspect her engagement to a man against her wish might have been the trigger.
“We found that she had searched for most effective ways to commit suicide and had looked for tablets. She had searched for their names and the quantity that should be consumed to kill oneself. All these emerged from the internet search history of her cellphone,” a police officer said, adding, “We will also examine her office computer for more details.”

Police said Geethanjali’s father Uday Kumar, a civil engineer with the public works department (PWD) in Goa, and other family members have been tightlipped about what possibly prompted their daughter to take the extreme step.
Cops got to know about her engagement from pictures on her mobile phone. “Geethanjali had also informed a few colleagues about her engagement over online chats,” a police officer said.
“We suspect Geethanjali might have been forced into this engagement. Her parents did not say anything about the bridegroom, though they were asked about him,” a police officer said. They also declined to identify the man, he added.
Geethanjali was from Baina in Goa. She returned to Bengaluru on Wednesday morning, went to her office and then headed to the terrace of Umiya Business Bay - 2 at 12.30pm. Her blood-soaked body was spotted by a security guard.
Geethanjali worked as a networking engineer with ADVA Optical Networking, located on the fourth floor of the same building.
Abdul Ahad, deputy commissioner of police (Whitefield division), said she did commit suicide and there was no foul play. “From preliminary investigation, it appears Geethanjali was upset about her engagement with this particular person and not willing to get married to him. We have not been able to find out the exact reason as her parents are not talking. We hope to get more clarity on this in a day or two,” a police officer said.
Meanwhile, Marathahalli police handed over the body to her parents following postmortem at Vydehi Institute of Medical Science (VIMS) Hospital on Thursday morning. The last rites were performed at the Kudlu crematorium.
Case of suspicious death registered
Police have registered a case of suspicious death based on the complaint lodged by Geethanjali’s younger brother Praful Kumar, also a software engineer in Bengaluru. Geethanjali was living with Praful at Bellandur for the last few years and had joined ADVA Optical Networking in April.
Police said they had to wait for the girl’s father, Uday Kumar, to arrive before they could register a complaint. The father had requested that no complaint be registered till he reaches the city.
“Uday Kumar did not come to the station. We learnt that he directly went to his children’s home at Bellandur. As he claimed he wasn’t aware why his daughter took the extreme step, we took the complaint from her brother and registered a case of suspicious death,” a police officer said.