TOI Nagpur :- BJP youth leader ends life in police station

Ashish Sonkuwar, president of BJP's youth wing at Arvi and member of Sawalapur gram panchayat, committed suicide by gulping a poisonous substance on the premises of Arvi police station on Tuesday night.

Sources said that Sonkuwar, 28, handed over a suicide note to constables present at the police station and immediately consumed the poison. He was rushed to hospital by the constables but died before any treatment.

In the suicide note, Sonkuwar alleged that a PSI named Manmode and Vasant Ingole, writer to the deputy SP, were responsible for his suicide as 'they were continuously bringing pressure on him and torturing him.'

In May, police had seized a four-wheeler belonging to Sonkuwar, which was carrying 12kg of jaggery. While Sonkuwar had claimed that the jaggery was meant to be fed to cattle, the police claimed it was meant to manufacture liquor illegally. There is total prohibition in Wardha district.

The police allegedly demanded bribe from Sonkuwar for not registering cases against him. In his suicide note, the youth leader wrote, "Manmode, the PSI and Vasant Ingole, the writer of the DY SP continued bringing pressure on him with demands of more and more money. The unbearable torture has compelled me to commit suicide."

Deputy superintendent of police Vinayak Susadkar denied any knowledge of misconduct by his writer and added that Wardha SP Avinash Kumar was conducting an inquiry.

into the matter. Kumar confirmed the ongoing inquiry. No immediate action had been taken against the personnel mentioned in Sonkuwar's suicide note.

Talking to TOI from Mumbai, Arvi MLA Dadarao Keche from BJP said that he had immediately called a meeting of BJP leaders on the issue in the state party office, which was presided by state BJP president Sudhir Mungantiwar. "I tried to contact Wardha SP on his mobile but he did not bother to answer my phone all day. He did not show promptness in taking action against the cops whose names appeared in the suicide note," said Keche.

The legislator added that he would raise the issue in the assembly. "We have immediately written to the state home minister and demand a CID inquiry into the matter," he said.