A depressed pensioner stripped to his underpants a

A depressed pensioner stripped to his underpants and chanted a prayer before plunging to his death in the Thames, an inquest heard today (WEDS).

Ahmed Bashir, 73, was seen on the riverbank by a horrified passer-by throwing his clothes into the water.

Then he waded in and leaned forward before floating face down.

By the time police pulled him out, Mr Bashir was dead.

Westminster Coroner’s Court heard how retired receptionist Mr Bashir was seen on the south bank near Battersea Bridge on the afternoon of April 26 this year.

Judy Shillingford, who was walking nearby, told the hearing: ‘He had taken off his trousers and jacket and was in boxer shorts.

‘That was peculiar.

He was standing there waving his arms, praying or chanting.

‘I was curious to see what happened.

Then he picked up his trousers and jacket and threw them in.

‘Then he just walked into the water, putting his face down as if he was going to float.

He just deliberately engulfed the water.

‘

Ms Shillingford alerted another walker, and the police were called.

They pulled Mr Bashir out of the water, but he was later pronounced dead at hospital.

A post mortem confirmed he had drowned.

The court heard Mr Bashir, of Larch Close, Balham, south London, had been treated for depression.

In 1999, he had been pulled from the Thames in what is believed to have been an earlier suicide attempt.

Recording a verdict of suicide while suffering from depression, coroner Dr Paul Knapman said: ‘He very clearly launched himself into the river Thames, keeping his head under the water.

‘He went there, performed a religious ceremony, and then launched himself into the river, ultimately to die.

‘
ends