Ahmedabad: ‘I am committing suicide with my friend’: these were the last words Sejal Patel and Ripal Rawat spoke to their parents, in separate calls on Friday evening, before they jumped together into the Narmada Canal near Nabhoi in Gandhinagar around 8pm. The two women — friends since college, and colleagues at the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation for the past five months — left no suicide note behind.Sejal, 26, lived in Naroda while Ripal, 24, lived in Thaltej, said police. Both had been recruited by the civic body five months earlier and worked in separate departments; one in property tax, the other in administration.Investigating officer L D Odedara of Adalaj police said the women switched off their phones shortly after calling their families. Their families rushed to the canal after receiving the calls but found only the women’s bags at the bank. Adalaj and Gandhinagar police were informed and reached the spot. The Gandhinagar fire brigade launched a search operation, but the strong current had already carried the bodies downstream. They were recovered roughly an hour later from the Zundal canal stretch. Their phones have not been found, said police.Odedara said little can be determined until the families are formally questioned. “We are yet to speak to the family and hence cannot say what drove the two to suicide. The two, according to reports, were close friends since college days. We did not find any suicide note at the scene,” he added. Police say they are looking into all possibilities, including whether the girls were under work pressure, family pressure, or had an emotional connection that drove them to take the extreme step. The family will be questioned once the last rites are completed, the officer added.
