MVA ups ante on Delkar suicide case; Mumbai Police books Praful Patel

A day after declaring a special investigation team (SIT) probe in the matter, state home minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday told the state Legislative Council that the Mumbai Police booked Dadra and Nagar Haveli administrator Praful Patel in connection with Delkar’s suicide.

The ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has upped the ante over the suicide of Dadra and Nagar Haveli MP Mohan Delkar. A day after declaring a special investigation team (SIT) probe in the matter, state home minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday told the state Legislative Council that the Mumbai Police booked Dadra and Nagar Haveli administrator Praful Patel in connection with Delkar’s suicide. Patel, , who was named in Delkar’s suicide note, has been booked under Prevention of Atrocities Act.

Family members of late Dadra and Nagar Haveli MP Mohan Delkar with Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh at Vidhan Bhavan. (HT FILE)

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said the case was registered only after statements of his family members were recorded. “We would have booked him long back, but we waited for his family to come. A case was registered only after recording their statements,” Thackeray told reporters.

“We did not jump the guns like opposition has been doing in Hiran case. The case against Patel has been taken only after Delkar’s wife and son gave us statement against him,” he said while taking to mediapersons in the Vidhan Bhavan complex.

In Lok Sabha, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule on Wednesday demanded a probe by the committee on privileges of the parliament into the allegations made by Delkar in his last speech in September last year. She said the committee should probe the reasons that lay impediments in discharging duties by MPs. Sule also submitted a memorandum in this regard to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla along with MPs from other parties such as the Congress, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The Sena along with other opposition parties also took up the issue of Delkar’s suicide in the Parliament. Sena’s Lok Sabha MP Vinayak Raut said the Union Territory’s administration was harassing the seven-time MP.

Delkar, 58, a sitting MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was found dead in a hotel in Marine Drive, south Mumbai on February 22. In his suicide letter, he blamed Patel, who was the minister of state for home when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat.

“There has been a demand for inquiry in the suicide of Mohan Delkar. His suicide note mentions that he committed suicide due to pressure from Patel. Based on the complaint received by Abhinav Delkar, a case has been registered under Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989. Dadra and Nagar Haveli administrator Praful Patel has also been booked,” Deshmukh said in the upper House.

“The fact that a seven-time member of Lok Sabha was reportedly frustrated to such an extent that it would drive him to extreme despair and steps to end his life is traumatic for all of us. In his last speech in Lok Sabha, he had expressly mentioned the pressure and humiliation mounted on him by officials of the local administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli... I humbly request you (Speaker) to inquire into the allegations made by the late member on the floor of the House in September 2020 by referring it to the committee on privileges,” she said in the memorandum.

“It is not just a loss of life but also a strike on the dignity of the Parliament. The independence and supremacy of the Parliament rests on the discharge of duties by its members fresh of any fear and duress,” states the letter.

She also said the Maharashtra government has ordered a SIT to probe his death, and the inquiry by committee of privileges will have no bearing on the criminal investigation by the SIT.

“Mohan Delkar, who was an MP for nearly 30-32 years, unfortunately had to commit suicide due to harassment by many administrative officers there. Mohan Delkar wrote a letter in Gujarati and through it we can come to know how much he was harassed by the Dadra and Nagar Haveli administration. He also complained to the privilege committee. Delkar, in the meeting of the committee, had said that if they do not intervene, he would have to commit suicide. Why should such a time arise for a MP to say this,” the Sena MP said in Lok Sabha.

“MVA in Maharashtra has given the probe to SIT. I wish to appeal to the Prime Minister to hold whoever is responsible for the death of Mohan Delkar. Superintendent of Police, Administration, Collector, etc should be suspended and booked under [section] 304 [of the Indian Penal Code],” Raut added.

On Tuesday, Delkar’s wife Kalaben and son Abhinav met chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and the home minister at Vidhan Bhavan. Later, the Mumbai Police recorded Abhinav’s statement at Marine Drive police station.

“My late father has named Praful Khoda Patel in his suicide letter, who is the administrator of the Union Territory. His public humiliation is the main cause behind his suicide that was going on for the past 16-18 months,” Abhinav told reporters in Vidhan Bhavan premises.

“Formation of a SIT in this case is a big thing for us. We trust the Maharashtra government and the police. We believe that we will get justice in the state. Our only request to the state government is to complete the probe at the earliest and take action against the guilty. The CM (Thackeray) has assured us of the same,” he said.