The Maharashtra Congress is said to be investigating the Bharatiya Janata Party's involvement in MP Mohan Delkar’s death by suicide, as a top Union Territory official and an ex-BJP MLA’s name has come up in Delkar’s suicide note.
The purported suicide note received by the police includes the name of former BJP MLA Praful Patel.
Maharashtra Congress leader and spokesperson Sachin Sawant has claimed Delkar was deeply hurt by the hurdles and constant humiliation he was subjected to in the field work.
Therefore, the Congress has demanded Home Minister of Maharashtra Anil Deshmukh to investigate the BJP’s connection with the suicide.
Deshmukh, on his part, has said that Delkar will get justice in Mumbai and Maharashtra, and promised a thorough investigation into the matter.
WHAT HAS THE CONGRESS PARTY CLAIMED?
According to Sachin Sawant, following a win in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Mohan Delkar had apparently said that Delhi was subjecting him to injustice. In 2020, Delkar, in a video offering resignation from the post of MP, had elaborated on how he and his supporters were being implicated in false cases.
Sawant has alleged that Delkar was constantly being harassed by the police, investigative agencies and some goons. An investigating officer had allegedly even told Delkar: "He has received an order from above."
Delkar was being targeted while no action was being taken on the people trapped in serious cases, Sachin Sawant has alleged.
WHO IS PRAFUL PATEL?
In this case, former BJP MLA Praful Patel has come under the scanner.
Patel is currently working as the administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
He was an MLA from Himmat Nagar in Gujarat from 2007 to 2012. He has also been the Minister of State for Home Affairs of Gujarat and is considered very close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
THE INCIDENT, THE SUICIDE NOTE, AND THE PROBE
According to information received from the Mumbai Police, MP Mohan Delkar was found dead in a Mumbai hotel on the afternoon of 22 February.
A suicide note, spanning fifteen pages, was also recovered from the spot. Many names have come up in the suicide note. The forensic team of the Mumbai Police is involved in the investigation.
In the coming days, the driver and family of Delkar will also be questioned.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)