Two days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that his Government would investigate the circumstances leading to the alleged suicide by seven-time Dadra Nagar Haveli MP Mohan S Delkar, the Maharashtra Congress on Tuesday clamoured for the registration of an FIR against the persons whose names figured in the 15-page suicide note left by the deceased MP.
Participating in a debate on the Governor’s address to a joint sitting of both the Houses in the State Legislature, Maharashtra State Congress president and senior party legislator Nana Patole said: “He wanted justice. That why came to Mumbai and committed suicide. In his suicide note, he has named several persons. But still an FIR has not been registered. The police should register an FIR without any further delay and initiate stern action in the case”.
Alluding to the role of Administrator of the Union Territory (UT) of Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu and former BJP MLA Praful Patel in the death, Patole said: “The name of former minister of home Praful Patel’s figures in Delkar’s dying declaration. He is the Administrator of the Union Territory (UT). However big and influential a person may be, but the person is not above law. Action should be taken against the person concerned”.
In Parliament, Delkar had raised the issue of harassment meted out to him by the UT administration. “He tried to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to the harassment faced by him from Praful Patel and others. Coming from Tribal community, Delkar came to Mumbai to commit suicide. He expected that justice would be done to him in Mumbai after his death”.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had said on Sunday last that he would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to direct the authorities in the Union Territory to cooperate with the Mumbai in the investigations.
“The probe hasn't begun yet. But I will request the Prime Minister and Home Minister to instruct the authorities in the Union Territory to cooperate with the Mumbai police when they reach there for investigation,” Uddhav said, while interacting with media persons on the eve of the budget session of the Maharashtra Legislature.
“An independent MP+ ends hied life by suicide...he wrote 14 to 16 pages... He commits because of harassment. This is serious,” Uddhav said.
In his weekly column “Rokhthok” in the Sena mouthpiece ''Saamana'', Raut had a dig at BJP and a section of the media media over Sushant’s death and demolition of a portion of actress Kangana Ranaut’s bungalow.
“Last year, there was such a hullabaloo and sensation in the media. Now everyone is silent. Delkar's purported suicide note blamed the administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli for alleged harassment and pressure brought to bear on him to join the BJP,” Raut had written on Sunday.
On his part, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had said last that the Mumbai police would investigate the circumstances leading to Delkar’s suicide.
It may be recalled that 58-year-old Delkar was found hanging in a hotel in the Marine Drive in south Mumbai on February 22. Fifty-eight-year-old Delkar is suspected to have committed suicide by hanging himself. The police had recovered a 16-page suicide note from the hotel room where Delkar’s body was found.
On February 24, the ruling Congress – which is one of the three constituents in the MVA government in Maharashtra had 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 had 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 had said.
“It is pertinent to note that Delkar travelled to Mumbai late on Sunday, checked into a hotel and committed `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.