Mumbai: In a shocking incident, a young 27-year-old Mumbai based woman biker Chetna Pandit who taught many Bollywood actresses bike riding today committed suicide by hanging herself at her Goregaon resident in India’s financial capital.
According to a senior police officer, the woman motorcycle coach Chetna Pandit who used to stay with her mother, was not at home when the incident took place yesterday night. She committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan at her residence in suburban area.
A senior inspector of Dindoshi police station Rajaram Vanmane said, “at the time of the incident, her brother had gone out. But when he returned home, he found her hanging and alerted the police.”
This 27-year-old hanged herself from a ceiling fan in the rented house on the first floor of Padmavati Nagar Society between 6 pm and 7 pm. A flatmate found an unresponsive Chetna about an hour later after calling a key maker to gain access to the flat.
The shocked flatmate called neighbours, who alerted the Dindoshi police. The letter Chetna left behind said no one should be blamed for her death. She had taken the extreme step because she couldn’t achieve certain goals in her life.
Chetna Pandit who taught Bollywood actresses bike riding commits suicide:
Chetna’s younger brother, who lives with relatives in Tardeo, performed the last rites on Wednesday. Their parents passed away several years ago.
Chetna, who moved to Mumbai from Karnataka over 10 years ago, was a professional bike riding coach, part of a growing tribe of female motorcycling enthusiasts in the city. She was the first female member of Enfield Riders, a motorcycle tour and training organisation.
She was also associated with a drag racing group. Before becoming a professional biker, she held a corporate job for afew years. Chetna persuaded women from different age groups to experience the life on the road, teaching them how to ride bikes, especially the Royal Enfield.
Five days ago, she shared a video of her two students on Facebook. One student is a mother of two. In the post, Chetna wrote: “Hey guys, it is an amazing feeling to see someone whom you trained, getting better day by day, following her heart to do what makes her happy. As a motorcycle coach I have met so many amazing women and it is indeed heartwarming to see them ride and get better (sic).”
She added: “I feel proud of these women. I am sure more and more women will come forward and learn to ride. I would be conducting weekend classes for ladies… Give yourself a chance to ride to dream to be free.”
A 2017 article with Chetna’s profile on a travel and lifestyle website described her as a “fighter” and a “girl who breaks age-old stereotypes”.
