'Harassment by ED, BJP leaders': Purported suicide note of MP businessman, wife sparks political slugfest

Bhopal: A purported suicide note recovered after the deaths of a businessman and his wife who hanged themselves in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district has led to a slugfest between the Congress and the ruling BJP.

In the purported suicide note that surfaced on social media, businessman Manoj Parmar urged Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders not to leave his children alone and accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and BJP leaders of harassment.

The Congress has claimed that Parmar and his wife were party supporters, and the ED harassed them over their political leanings. The couple’s children had gifted their piggybank to Gandhi during his "Bharat Jodo (Nyaya) Yatra".

Sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Akash Amalkar said the suicide note received by the police was in the form of an application.

He said the family members of the deceased couple were still in mourning, so the police have not recorded their statements.

Talking to PTI, Amalkar said he cannot reveal more about the suicide note as the investigation is underway.

Parmar and his wife Neha were found hanging in their home in Ashta town of Sehore district on Friday morning.

The suicide note is addressed to the President of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and others.

In a note, which appears to be typed and printed, Parmar has urged Gandhi to take care of his family.

Asked about the mention of Gandhi and Congress leaders in the suicide note, the party's state president, Jitu Patwari, told PTI, "Congress is a party of the public. We will take care of them. Which is why I visited there yesterday." Patwari alleged that the Parmar couple's death was not a case of suicide but a state-sponsored murder, as the ED was being used to harass leaders so that they join the BJP.

Several leaders joined the BJP after being harassed by the ED and other investigative agencies, he claimed.

In a post on X on Saturday, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath claimed that Parmar committed suicide with his wife because he was harassed by the BJP government and ED officials.

"The deceased's only crime was that during our leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, his children had supported the yatra by gifting him a piggy bank," he wrote and shared a news report about this case and suicide note.

Nath said the deceased's suicide note mentions harassment by the ED and pressure to join the BJP.

He said the whole case was more about wiping out an entire family than harassing a businessman to the point of suicide for political reasons.

Nath, in his post, urged Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to get the case investigated as per law and ensure strict action against the culprits.

Madhya Pradesh BJP's media in-charge Ashish Agrawal had on Friday condemned the Congress's allegations about the suicide.

"Doing politics over death is the old vulture-like character of Congressmen! The suicide of anyone is sad, but Congressmen misuse it only to further their personal interests. Before making baseless allegations, both Singh and Patwari and Congressmen should know the case history," Agrawal said in a statement.

The ED's Bhopal zonal official had, in a release, said the agency carried out searches on December 5 at four premises in Sehore and Indore districts in connection with Parmar and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The search covered the residential premises of the key persons who were the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime or have actively aided or abetted such persons in a bank fraud case, the ED said, claiming to have recovered incriminating documents.

The probe agency said it recorded the statements of certain persons during the raid, and a bank balance of Rs 3.5 lakh was frozen.

Details of four immovable properties of the key persons were also found during the searches, it said.

As per the statement, the ED launched an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Parmar and a senior branch manager of PNB.

The ED has alleged that loans worth nearly Rs 6 crore were availed under the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme and Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana. However, the funds were diverted to proprietorship concerns or firms and were subsequently withdrawn in cash for investment in properties.

The ED investigation is underway, said the statement.