Did he attempt to end his life or did a friend try to kill him? Dogged with question, the Navi Mumbai counselled a 30-year-old man and let him go.
Around 11.30 pm on Saturday, a 30-year-old man, who had landed in the waters of Vashi creek, was rescued by two local fishermen who yanked him onto their fishing boat and got him ashore.
The fishermen—Sangram Patil (31) and Amar Bhoir (32)—said that the man, Dilip Acharya a resident of Taloja, had told them that his friend who had called him to the Vashi bridge pushed him into the water. The police, however, claimed that he told them that he told them that he had tried to end his life, but chickened out at the last minute.
Senior police inspector Ajay Landage said that Acharya was spotted by the fishermen , clutching firmly to the base of a high-voltage electric tower which stands in the water.
The police said that soon after “jumping” into the creek, he panicked. Gasping for breath, he somehow managed to swim up to the base of the tower and started shouting for help. The two fishermen, said the police, heard his cries for help. They quickly rowed their boat towards the tower and got Acharya aboard, said Landage.
Assistant police inspector Sushil Gaikwad said that Acharya, who is a cook at a restaurant, lives with his wife. “During counselling, he told us that he had attempted suicide as he was stressed out due to a financial crisis.
One of the fishermen, Amar Bhoir, however, told TOI that when they got the man ashore and asked him how he had landed there, he told them that “a friend of his had pushed into the creek”.
This, said Bhoir happened around 6.30 pm and Acharya had told them that he had been holding on to the tower for about four hours, calling out for help.
“When we took him on our boat, he was drenched and was shivering. We informed the Vashi police,” said Bhoir.
Recently, a 22-year-old who had fallen into the water was rescued by fishermen.