A 35-year-old man’s attempt to end his life after being caught red-handed with another woman in a Thane lodge triggered a night of chaos and a morning of relief on Airoli bridge.
The man, identified as Rahul Gautam Dabhade, was confronted by his wife on Wednesday evening inside a Thane lodge. Shaken and humiliated, he stormed out, telling her over the phone, “Meri galti ho gayi hai”, before cutting the call.
Around midnight, motorists alerted Navi Mumbai Police after spotting him climb the railings of Airoli creek bridge and jump into the dark waters below.
Police and fire brigade teams rushed to the spot and searched the creek through the night. “We used torches and scanned the waters under the bridge for hours, but visibility was very poor. There was fear he may have drowned,” said a senior officer.
At first light, the search resumed. Around 6 am, Dabhade was finally spotted clinging weakly to a rock mid-creek, half-submerged and exhausted. With help from locals and boats, the team pulled him out alive.
Sr PI Balkrushna Sawant of Rabale Police Station said, “The man was under tremendous emotional stress after being caught in the lodge. Out of panic and shame, he jumped off the bridge. Luckily, he was spotted in time and rescued. We have counseled him and handed him safely to his family.”
No case has been registered, but police have advised the family to seek counseling support for him.
For the cops, fire brigade, and locals who searched the creek for hours, relief came only when the man — battered, embarrassed, but alive — was finally brought ashore.