In a tragic incident on Friday, a businessman, Manoj Parmar, and his wife committed suicide in Ashta town of Sehore district. The incident has ignited a political controversy between the opposition Congress and the ruling BJP.
The Congress alleged that the couple faced harassment by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) due to their political affiliations. Party leaders claimed that Parmar and his wife were Congress supporters and had been targeted because their children had gifted their piggy bank to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari described the deaths as a ‘State murder’ and accused the BJP-led government of using central agencies to suppress opposition voices.
Patwari, who met the grieving family, said, “The ED raided Parmar’s premises because he was a Congress supporter. This is not just a suicide; it is a state-engineered murder.” Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh echoed similar sentiments, blaming the government for the tragedy.
The ruling BJP responded strongly, accusing the Congress of ‘playing politics over death’. Madhya Pradesh BJP media in-charge Ashish Agrawal condemned the Congress’ statements, saying, “It is an old, vulture-like tactic of Congress to exploit personal tragedies for political gains. Suicide is a grave and unfortunate matter, but Congress leaders use such incidents for their selfish interests without understanding the facts of the case.”
The police are investigating the case. Ashta Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Akash Amalkar confirmed that the cause of the couple’s suicide is yet to be determined.
Meanwhile, the ED issued a statement clarifying its actions in the case. According to the agency, search operations were conducted on December 5 at four locations in Sehore and Indore districts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These searches targeted residential premises linked to Parmar and others alleged to have been involved in bank fraud.
The ED revealed that the searches were part of an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Parmar and a senior branch manager of Punjab National Bank (PNB). The agency stated that loans amounting to nearly ?6 crore were availed under government schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and the Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana. The funds, however, were allegedly diverted to proprietorship firms and withdrawn in cash for property investments.
During the searches, the ED claimed to have recovered incriminating documents, frozen a bank balance of ?3.5 lakh, and identified four immovable properties linked to the accused. The agency has recorded statements of key individuals involved and stated that its investigation is ongoing.
The incident has deepened the divide between the Congress and BJP, with the opposition accusing the ruling party of using central agencies to target its supporters, while the BJP dismisses the claims as baseless political rhetoric. The tragic deaths of Parmar and his wife remain under scrutiny as authorities work to ascertain the exact circumstances leading to the incident.
