Demanding an enquiry into the alleged suicide by sitting MP Mohan S. Delkar, the ruling Congress on Wednesday turned the needle of suspicion towards Administrator of the Union Territory (UT) of Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu and former BJP MLA Praful Patel who, it alleged, was among the UT officials that harassed Delkar leading the latter ending his life.
In a video-conference held with Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, State Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant and party’s spokesperson Dr Raju Wagmare alluded to a video clip released by late Delkar in mid-2020 and the suicide note left by the latter and rooted for thorough investigations into the circumstances leading to the suicide by the sitting MP.
“The tragic end of Mr Delkjar needs to be investigated. He has left A 16-page suicide note in which he has mentioned the names of all the officials who harassed him. It is being discussed among people that he has mentioned the name of Praful Patel, who is currently working as the Administrator of Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu since 2016,” Sawant and Dr Wagmare said in their representation to the State Home Minister.
“Mr Patel is a former BJP MLA from Himatnagar constituency in Gujarat for its 12th legislative Assembly. He also served as an Minister of State for Home of Gujarat and is very close to the RSS and BJP’s national leadership,” the two Congress leaders said.
“It is pertinent to note that Delkar travelled to Mumbai late on Sunday, checked into a hotel and committed Rs suicide’ by hanging himself in the room. He may have chosen to come to Mumbai committing suicide because of he was not sure to get justice in the Union Territory,” Saware and Dr Wafgmare said.
“He must have come to Mumbai with an expectation from the MVA government that the culprits who compelled him to take the extreme step would be punished by law,” the two Congress leaders stated in their letter. On his part, the State Home Minister gave a patient hearing to the Congress, accepted their two-page representation and assured them that he would direct the Mumbai Police to look into the matter.
In their interaction with Deshmukh, the two Congress leaders alluded to a video released by Delkar sometime in mid-2020, in which the latter had threatened to resign as the MP as he could no longer bear the “insults and humiliating treatment” meted out to him continuously.
“Delkar was clearly seen targeting the BJP in the video. The words used by him shed light on how he was targeted by the Modi government,” the Congress leaders said in their representation to Deshmukh.
It may be recalled that Delkar was found hanging in a hotel in the Marine Drive in south Mumbai on Monday. Fifty-eight-year-old Delkar is suspected to have committed suicide by hanging himself.
The preliminary investigations had suggested Delkar had committed by hanging himself in the hotel room. His body was found in the hotel on Monday. Delkar’s body was subsequently taken to JJ Hospital where after a post-mortem, his viscera has been preserved for histopathological examination to ascertain the exact cause of the death. Later, his mortal remains were handed over to his family members on Tuesday for taking to Silvassa, where his last rites were performed later in the evening.
While confirming that Delkar’s body had been handed over to his family, Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (operations) and police spokesperson S Chaitanya had declined to comment on the investigations. “We cannot say anything at this stage. Investigations are in progress,” Chaitanya had said.
