Government employee kills mentally ill son, self

In an elaborate plan, a 41-year-old government employee from Navi Mumbai first killed his differently-abled son (14) before committing suicide on Thursday afternoon. Police sources who recovered the dead bodies of the father-son duo confirmed that a gas mask attached to the carbon dioxide cylinder, found next to their bodies was most likely the cause of their death.

The deceased have been identified as Manohar Pawar and his son Kaushal. Pawar was attached to the customer redressal centre of legal metrology department. Sources claimed that he was frustrated owing to Kaushal’s condition and hence, took the extreme step. The incident came to light when Pawar’s wife, Mansi, registered a missing persons’ report with CBD police on Thursday night. “The family had gone to a mall and after dropping Mansi home, Pawar took his son for a drive,” said a police officer.

When they did not return till late, a worried Mansi approached the police.

“The police, along with the family, started looking for the vehicle in the neighbourhood and soon found the car parked near a gurudwara blocks away from their residential apartment,” informed the officer. Two cylinders containing carbon dioxide and a mask were found in the car, he added. “Both father and son were rushed to the hospital but were declared dead before admission. Doctors informed us that the preliminary cause of death seemed to be carbon dioxide poisoning,” the officer said.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that Pawar parked his car and then attached the mask to his son’s face and made him inhale the gas. Once Kaushal died, he took his own life in the same way. “A search revealed that Mr Pawar had ordered cylinders a few days ago from a website and kept them hidden in the car. He had planned the whole thing meticulously,” said the officer.

Sources revealed that Pawar, who was earlier posted in Sangli, got himself transferred to the Mumbai office, citing personal reasons. “His family told us that Pawar was a squeaky clean officer and would scorn at his colleagues who took bribes. But he was allegedly extremely unhappy that his son suffered from a mental disorder and was also not physically able. He would always tell his wife and mother that he had no idea why he and his son were being punished this way. He was also worried as to who would take care of his son if something untoward happened to him,” said the officer.

The officer further said that there was no suicide note left and the bodies had been sent for post mortem.