Woman in UK watched lover in Delhi slash himself to death over 10 hours

April 19, 2012

Delhi


New Delhi/London, April 19: This bizarre deathwatch occurred across continents 11,000km apart over four months back, but few knew about it until now. A British automobile consultant slashed his throat and wrists in his rented Green Park flat in South Delhi while his girlfriend watched in horror on Skype from Reading in the UK.

The consultant, Adrian Rowland, 53, was video-chatting with his partner, Julie Zalinski, when he suddenly slashed himself with a broken bottle.

Speaking for the first time about the shocking experience at an inquest on the death in Oxford, UK, Julie Zalinski said on Tuesday that she had informed the British police which, in turn, alerted Delhi Police via the British High Commission, but at the end of it all her partner could not be saved and she was left watching helplessly for over 10 hours as Rowland bled to death.

On Wednesday, Delhi Police confirmed the death. It said the police had rushed to Rowland's second-floor flat with paramedics on November 27 after being alerted but they could not enter as Rowland did not open the door. The Oxford inquest was told that Indian laws, unlike British laws, prevented police from breaking into the flat.

The Delhi Police version is different. It said policemen had reached the flat even before the high commission alert because a neighbour called up to say Rowland was throwing things about inside his house and something seemed wrong. A police officer had knocked on the door but Rowland told him to "go away".

Actually, a lot was going wrong with Rowland, making him suicidal. Zalinski told the inquest from the witness stand that her boyfriend was in "complete state".

Zalinski said he was sweating profusely and kept saying, "They are going to get me, they are going to get me."

At an inquest in Oxford, she added that Rowland said there were people in the room when she could see there were none.

Zalinski said, "He started bashing everything around in his flat (which corroborates the neighbour's complaint). "He walked into the kitchen, grabbed a glass and smashed it on the table and then stuck it straight into his neck."

A little earlier, a friend of Julie's had come visiting her. "We couldn't believe what we had seen," she said.

UK tabloid Daily Mail has reported that Julie called the police and a constable, Victoria Blaszko, arrived and saw on Skype Rowland with a deep wound on his neck. They convinced him to wrap a towel around his neck.

Julie also told the coroner that Rowland hadn't opened the door when the police arrived: "He didn't believe it was the police, he thought it was the people who wanted to get him."

Rowland had been hallucinating the day before too. Julie said the previous day he had told her that he couldn't talk because he had guests for dinner. At first she was happy that he was socializing but then became worried when he indicated that the guests were already seated although the camera behind him showed that the dining table was empty.

After the British high commission called up the police here urging them to save Rowland, the police reached the house and broke open the window of his second-floor flat and entered it. But by then it was too late - Rowland was lying in a pool of blood. He was rushed to the hospital but doctors declared him brought dead. The police version is obviously at variance with what was said to Oxford coroner Nicholas Gardiner about Indian laws preventing the police from forcibly entering someone's house to save a life. (Late last month, police entered the flat of a doctor couple in Dwarka, southwest Delhi, to bring out a maid who claimed to have been locked in.)

Rowland had come to India a few weeks before he killed himself and was looking for business opportunities as a consultant in the automotive industry. Daily Mail has reported that Zalinski and Rowland were reportedly together for almost two and a half years before Rowland's suicide. She was quoted as saying, "We both really loved each other. We were so happy together. It was taken away."

Just a month earlier, Julie had come down to India and the two of them had gone to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which Julie described as "the palace of love". Daily Mail quoted Rowland's friend as saying that Rowland "just loved being the centre of attention and having fun. He really loved Julie...He was the happiest he had ever been."


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Agencies
May 28,2020

Mumbai, May 28: Twenty four doctors and three others staying in a south Mumbai hotel were rescued after a major fire broke out in the five-storey building, officials said on Thursday.

The BMC has arranged temporary accommodation for emergency and essential service staffers, including doctors and nurses, in various hotels and lodges in the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This hotel is one such facility.

The fire broke out at Hotel Fortune near Metro Cinema late Wednesday night and was brought under control after nearly three hours early Thursday, fire brigade officials said.

“The fire spread from the first to the third floor of the hotel, a fire brigade official told PTI. It was a level-2 fire and eight fire engines were rushed to the spot, he added.

The fire was confined to the electric wiring and cables in the electrical duct, false ceiling in the lobby and the common passages on the first, second and third floors of the hotel, he said.

The 24 rescued were resident doctors at a local hospital who were provided temporary accommodation in the hotel, while the three others were guests of the hotel, he said.

The fire broke out at 11 am and wasbrought under control at 1.40 am, the official said. Cooling operation is underway at the hotel, he added.

Five doctors were rescued using fire brigade ladders and breathing apparatus sets, the official said.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known, the fire brigade official said.

On April 21, a major fire broke out in a lodging room of Hotel Ripon near Mumbai Central, which was being used as a quarantine facility by the civic body.

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News Network
February 10,2020

New Delhi, Feb 10: A 44-year-old man allegedly killed his daughter and son before ending his life by jumping in front of a Delhi metro train at Haiderpur Badli Mor station on Sunday, police said.

No suicide note has been recovered, but police claimed that the man, Madhur Malani, was depressed since his sandpaper-manufacturing factory was closed some six months ago due to financial crunch leaving him jobless. Madhur's parents had been supporting his family financially since then.

He used to stay with his wife Rupali, daughter Samiksha (14) and six-year-old son Shraiyans at a rented house in northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh area, they said.

Rupali was not at home when Madhur strangled their children. He might have also smothered their daughter but the exact cause of death would be ascertained only after the post-mortem reports arrive, a police official said.

After killing his two children, he jumped in front of an approaching train at Haiderpur Badli Mor Metro station following which he was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him 'brought dead', the official said.

Metro services on the Yellow Line were briefly delayed due to the incident.

"Delay in services from Samaypur Badli to GTB Nagar due to a passenger on track at Haiderpur Badli Mor," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted.

After about 15 minutes, it again tweeted that normal services have been restored. The Delhi Metro's Yellow Line connects Samaypur Badli in Delhi to HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon.

The suicide was reported to the police around 5.40 pm while the Shalimar Bagh Police station received a call about the killings around 6.50 pm.

On reaching the house, police found bodies of the children lying in beds in two rooms. During enquiry, it was learnt that their father has left the house, a senior police officer said.

While police were trying to trace Madhur, they learnt about a suicide at the metro station. On verifying the details, it surfaced that Madhur committed suicide after killing his children, the officer said.

Rupali told police that she had gone to a nearby market around 3 pm and on returning home she found the bodies of her children while her husband was missing.

A case under relevant sections of the IPC has been registered and investigation was underway, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya said.

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Agencies
April 11,2020

Hyderabad, Apr 11: With the Telangana government banning spitting in public places in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, a police case has been registered here against a man for violating the rule.

During vehicle-checking on Friday, police found the man spitting on the road here and registered a case against him for disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant, police said.

Spitting in public places and institutions has been banned in the state in view of the pandemic with the government saying such acts pose a serious threat of leading to spread of infections.

"In the interest of public health and safety, the spitting of paan/any chewable tobacco or non-tobacco product, sputum in public places & institutions is hereby BANNED with immediate effect," a gvernment notification said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the importance of hygiene and cleanliness in both personal as well as public spheres, the April 6 notification issued by the Health, Medical and Family Welfare department said.

"It is of utmost need to impose restrictions on unhealthy practices that may potentially lead to spread of such viruses and other infections," it said.

The habit of public spitting poses a serious threat of leading to spread of such infections, the notification added.

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