Natwar Singh’s daughter commits suicide

The family had witnessed another tragedy recently when Natasha Singh, estranged wife of Natwar’s son Jagat Singh, allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the terrace of Hyatt Regency Hotel in March, this year.

Police said Ritu committed suicide at around 7.30pm by hanging herself. At the Natwar Singh residence, the iron gates leading into the house were tightly shut. At around 9.30pm, a police ambulance carrying Ritu’s body followed by Jagat Singh drew out of the house. Ritu was taken to Safdarjung Hospital where her post-mortem is expected to take place sometime tomorrow.

The family’s lawyer, R.K. Anand, came out of the Singh residence to make an official statement to the media. He said both Natwar and Jagat Singh were not at home at the time of the incident.

‘‘Ritu’s body was detected at around 7.30pm when she didn’t respond to the knocks made by servants. Her maid servant Surinder Kaur tried to open the door but found that it was locked from inside. Ritu’s mother, who was in the house at that time, was informed. The door to Ritu’s first-floor room was broken open. That’s when she was found hanging,’’ Anand recalled.

Anand further said that Ritu had used a dressing gown belt to hang herself from the top latch of a cupboard. ‘‘We found anti-depressant tablet strips and have handed over empty strips to the police,’’ Anand said. There are also reports that Ritu had consumed a large amount of Alprax tablets before committing suicide.

Ritu, Natwar Singh’s only daughter, had reportedly been suffering from chronic depression for the past eight years.

She had come to the Capital from London and was supposed to return next week. At the time of the incident, Jagat was in Jor Bagh. Ritu had introduced Jagat to Natasha Singh and was instrumental in their marriage.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was reportedly at a school function in Vasant Vihar when she received a call from Natwar Singh’s family telling her about the incident. She was at the residence for a long time and had also called for medical assistance for Natwar Singh.

There were reports that Natwar Singh had had a heart attack and an ambulance and ECG machine rushed to his residence. A team of doctors from the Escorts Heart Institute also arrived on the scene. However, Singh’s doctor of 10 years, Ravi Kasliwal, denied such reports. ‘‘Under such conditions, he could have had angina or chest pain, which is why we came. He is obviously under a lot of duress right now. The ambulance was brought to be on the safe side,’’ he said.

Senior Congress leaders including party chief Sonia Gandhi, Rajya Sabha MP Karan Singh, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and Union Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia visited the bereaved family. Police have not yet given a formal statement.