Parents seek Kalam’s help in Captain Megha case

Dead sure that Captain Megha Razdan could not have killed herself, her family has petitioned President APJ Abdul Kalam and Defence Minister AK Antony to intervene in the matter.

In a letter to the President, Megha’s mother Shailja describes her daughter as a strong person capable of taking any adversity in her stride. Still in mourning, Shailja writes: “She was not a weakling to give in easily... It is only weak people who would take such an extreme step.”

Megha’s family deeply suspects that the 25-year-old was murdered before she was found hanging from a fan in her Jammu home on July 1.

In the letter, Shailja asks, “Why are the authorities hedging from releasing the post-mortem report despite several request? This leads one to think that there is much more than meets the eye… Who are the authorities protecting and why?”

The family has given Megha’s husband Captain Chaitanya Bhatawadekar a clean chit.

Antony, on his part, said on Thursday that all efforts would be made to establish the truth behind Megha’s death. He said her family had met him on Wednesday and told him that they did not believe she had committed suicide. “They want to find out the truth and we are particular that the true facts should come to light,” he said.

The family members have, in the letter, also accused the authorities of trying to gag them.

“The way the unit personnel handled us — not allowing the media to meet us, not allowing us to speak to others and not informing us about the actions being taken by them to find the real cause of her demise — leads us to believe that the intentions of the Court of Inquiry are not fair and they only want to close the case somehow so as not to tarnish the army’s image,” the letter reads.

The army maintains that there is no question of a cover-up.