Suicide by Mohali petrol pump owner: Family demands all accused be brought to task

Grieving the loss of their patriarch – the Mohali-based 76-year-old petrol pump owner – his family has sought action against all those named in his suicide note.

Grieving the loss of their patriarch – the Mohali-based 76-year-old petrol pump owner – his family has sought action against all those named in his suicide note.

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“My brother lost his life due to Chandigarh administration’s connivance with the petrol mafia by reducing VAT. The Punjab excise department also failed to rein in cross-border diesel smuggling,” said the deceased’s brother, also a businessman.

“Within a few years, my brother was pushed to bankruptcy from being the biggest fuel dealer. All those responsible for his death must be brought to task,” he said.

As per one of his relatives, the 76-year-old had sold his properties and shifted to a rented accommodation in Mohali.

“My father was suffering losses in business owing to disparity in fuel rates in Chandigarh and Mohali,” said his son, on whose statement an FIR for abetment to suicide was registered in Chandigarh.

The deceased, who had studied at BITS Pilani, had opened his first petrol pump in 1969, before he became the owner of three petrol pumps – two in Phase 7 and Daun village, Mohali, and the third in Fatehgarh Sahib.

He allegedly lost the Daun petrol pump to cheating and conspiracy and feared his Phase 7 petrol pump may also be snatched from him, said his brother.

The elderly man is survived by his wife, a son, who is into the real estate business, and two daughters.

“He left home with his driver on July 22 without informing anyone. He never used to go out. We later got to know that he was no more,” said his brother, who added that the family had left for Kiratpur for immersion of his ashes, while the memorial service will be held on Sunday.