An accidental death

The 67-year-old Parsi lady who was found dead in her third floor flat in a Parsi colony near the Pump House in Andheri (East) on September 13, 2011 was identified as Homai Rusi Cooper. Nothing was missing from the house and the door was locked from inside. "An injury mark was found on the deceased’s head. Preliminary investigations have revealed that she slipped and fell on the floor and suffered a serious injury to her head, which led to her death,” a police officer informed Daily News and Analysis (DNA) as mentioned in its edition of September 14. There was apprehension as the death occurred at a time when a series of violent deaths of elderly persons had been reported, noted DNA.

Perin Fitter makes a point with social activist Anna Hazare in his native town of Ralegan Siddhi. Mama Neem, as Fitter is known for her work in educating people on the benefits of growing and processing the tree with multiple beneficial properties, refers to the state of Maharashtra as a "gold mine of neem.”

The next day Hindustan Times (HT) wrote that the police had confirmed that, based on postmortem reports, Cooper’s was an accidental death. A mother of three, Cooper lived alone as all her children were married and had homes of their own. Bhimrao Jadav, senior police inspector of Meghwadi police station informed HT: "We have questioned her children and they do not suspect anyone of murder. Cooper had high blood pressure. It appears that she slipped and hit her head against the bed, or the edge of the drawer, as she had multiple injuries on her head. Even the gold she was wearing was intact.”

Police estimate that Cooper died late on Saturday night, September 10, or Sunday morning as her children had visited her on Saturday and had dinner with her. On Monday afternoon the house help came and knocked on the door several times, eliciting no response. The woman mentioned this to a neighbor who informed Cooper’s family. When a family member opened the flat with a spare key, the body was found near the bed lying in a pool of blood, the newspaper mentioned.