MUMBAI, May 11: Two Nepalese prostitutes in Kamathipura hanged themselves to death this morning. They were sisters who reportedly committed suicide unable to bear their brother's endless demands for money.

Sarita, 26, and Maya, 25, were found hanging by their dupattas from the ceiling at around 7.15 a.m. at their room in Bohri Chawl, 13th Lane, Kamathipura.

They were found when their housemaid, Pushpa Lama, knocked at their door and did not get any response. She entered the room and saw the girls hanging.

Lama immediately shouted for help and other girls in the brothel rushed over. One of them, Rekha Thapa, with a hope that the two might still be alive, cut the dupattas and, with the help of other girls, brought the bodies down. But they realised that both Sarita and Maya were dead and Ganga, the gharwali, informed the police.

The police said the two sisters hailed from Nepal and had come to Mumbai a couple of years back. Their brother, who is said to have brought them to the brothel, frequently visited them to demand money. On May 7, the police said, he demanded Rs 10,000 from his sisters. A couple of days later, he forced them to pay him the amount.

According to Ganga's statement, the girls' brother wanted the money to buy land. Being extremely poor, they borrowed the money from someone and gave it to him.

Apparently they were then desperately worried about repaying the money as well as afraid that their brother's demands would not stop. That is supposed to have made them kill themselves.

All the girls in the brothel have pointed out this possibility in their statements to the police. But when contacted, they refused to comment saying they did not know much about the sisters and their brother.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.