Before a 21-year-old woman jumped into the Chenab River in Doda district today, she spoke with her father over the phone, saying, “This is my life,” and “Bye-bye, Papa.”
Officials said a joint rescue operation by police, the State Disaster Response Force and local volunteers was launched in the Chenab River, but there was no trace of her.
They said the incident occurred around 2 pm at the Shiva Dal bridge near Prem Nagar.”A video, purportedly captured by passersby who tried to discourage her, shows Payal Devi saying “bye-bye” before jumping into the river; the video subsequently went viral on social media.
Officials said the circumstances that led Payal to take the extreme step were not immediately known.
According to her father, Krishan Lal, Devi had gone to a mela and later told him over the phone that she felt unwell and was going to consult a doctor.
After the doctor was reportedly unavailable, she was on her way back when she apparently got onto a motorcycle.
Her father said he later received a call from a person accompanying his daughter, who told him she had run towards the river.
“Nobody should come near me,” her father recalled Payal saying, adding that he subsequently spoke to her over the phone and repeatedly asked what had happened and whether someone had said or done anything to her.
According to Lal, Payal responded, “No, Papa. This is my own life. My heart tells me that I should go this way.” She then told him, “Bye-bye, Papa,” before the call ended, he said. (PTI)