Mumbai hotelier kills himself, son near native Udupi – Times of India

MUMBAI: Gopalkrishna Rai, a 52-year hotelier from Dadar, committed suicide along with his six-year-old son during a trip to his native town near Udupi. The bodies of the father-son duo who went missing from Nethravati Bridge February 16 washed ashore Friday at Mattu beach at Katapady in Udupi district.
Rai, 52, ran Leena Restaurant and Bar in Dadar, a popular old orchestra bar. The outlet was closed on Saturday with a note of condolence pasted at the gate. Neighbours said Rai was a devotee of Lord Ayyappa and visited Sabarimala temple each year, buying new bags and paraphernalia from adjacent shops. Rai lived in Mira Road and also had business interests in Dombivli.
He was a native of Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district. He and his son Aneesh travelled to their hometown for a religious function in his wife’s house a fortnight ago. However, wife Ashwini did not accompany them. On February 16, the hotelier took his son and left the place early in the morning even while the ceremony was under way.
Their car was later found abandoned near Nethravati Bridge and a suicide note was recovered from the vehicle, which said they were jumping into the river. Police had conducted search operations in the river for five days with no result.
The decomposed remains were identified by Rai’s brother Harish and Ashwini who travelled to Udupi after police informed them of the recovery.
On Saturday the autopsies were completed at the mortuary of Ajjarkadu civil hospital and handed over to Kapu police station. The family took over from there and left for the last rites.
Gopalkrishna’s brother Harish, who also works in Mumbai, said, “We cannot fathom why he became so depressed. He had no trouble within the family. He came to his wife’s house for the function and suddenly decided to jump off the bridge. She is shocked and pained at losing both husband and son. We are consoling her. We will return to Mumbai after completing all the rituals 20-25 days later.”