A day after sailor Melvin Raj allegedly committed suicide aboard warship INS Talwar, his family received a copy of a letter he wrote to his commanding officer. The letter states that Melvin faced punitive actions due to his alcoholism.
In his letter, Melvin confessed that he was prone to alcohol abuse and went on to say that he had not touched liquor for two months after the last punitive action against him. However, on New Year’s Eve, Melvin went out to celebrate and reportedly drank too much. This landed him in trouble as he did not report for the duty next morning. Melvin allegedly committed suicide after the incident.