Collector Of Dadra And Nagar Haveli Sandeep Kumar Singh Seeks Quashing Of "Politically Motivated" FIR In MP Suicide

Sandeep Kumar Singh, the collector of Silvassa has moved the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him in connection with the suicide of Member of Parliament Mohan Delkar. Singh has said that the FIR is politically motivated and Mumbai Police does not have the jurisdiction to investigate the case. The petition was briefly heard by the division bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale. It has been posted for further hearing Thursday after the State said no coercive action will be taken till then. Delkar, a Member of Parliament from the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli was found dead in a hotel room at Marine Drive, Mumbai, on February 22. An alleged suicide note was found on him. On March 9, the Marine Drive Police booked several accused, including Singh on a complaint by Delkar's son Abhinav. He alleged that Delkar was being harassed by the UT's administrator Praful Kheda Patel and local government officials because they wanted him to stop contesting elections. The accused were booked u/s 306 (abetment of suicide), 506 (criminal intimidation), 389 (putting a person in fear of accusation of offence), 120(b) of the IPC and relevant sections of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. In his petition, Singh alleged there was a considerable delay in registration of FIR. He further alleged that to establish 'abetment to suicide'', there has to be a conspiracy or intention to drive a person to suicide, which was missing in the present case. He further said that there was only a singular allegation against him in the alleged suicide note, that the MP was not allowed to give the liberation day speech by the Collector. Singh also referred to the letter of former Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh sent to the Chief Minister where he has made several allegations against State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. In his letter, Param Bir states that he was always of the opinion that the FIR should be registered at the UT. "However, from day one, the Hon'ble Home Minister desired a case of abetment of suicide to be registered at Mumbai. My professional view after seeking appropriate legal advice was that while the suicide had occurred in Mumbai, all the alleged acts of abetment had taken place in Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Thus, the abetment of suicide, if any, was required to be investigated by the Police at Dadra & Nagar Haveli who would have jurisdiction in that regard. You will recollect that in a briefing held at Varsha soon after the incident in the presence of a Hon'ble Minister and several other officials, after I drew attention of all concerned about my view, there was general agreement that the alleged acts of abetment could only be investigated by the Police at Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Dutybound to do so, I held to my professional view as advised by legal experts. The Hon'ble Home Minister kept insisting otherwise despite having been informed by me about the opinion of legal experts on this issue. Due to my resistance, the Hon'ble Home Minister was unhappy with me as the political mileage desired to be derived from the registration of the abetment of suicide case in Mumbai in the death of Shri Mohan Delkar, Member of Parliament against senior officials of Dadra & Nagar Haveli was not being achieved," his letter reads. Sigh claims he did not know Delkar personally and the only action concerning the MP he had taken was to conduct an inquiry into a trust that Delkar headed. Singh has sought protection from arrest till the plea is heard.

Collector Of Dadra And Nagar Haveli Sandeep Kumar Singh Seeks Quashing Of "Politically Motivated" FIR In MP Suicide

Sharmeen Hakim

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