Mumbai: Politician told Pancharam's kin not to claim body, say police

Pancharam Rithadia's (inset) funeral procession which eventually turned violent. Pic/File

Nehru Nagar police, probing the alleged suicide of Pancharam Rithadia, have identified a politician who tried to keep the issue burning by telling his family to not claim his body. In addition, a spotless suicide note found with Pancharam, whose clothes were completely stained with blood, has prompted the cops to get the five-page note examined.

Pancharam allegedly committed suicide on October 13 over police inaction regarding his 17-year-old daughter's kidnapping. She was kidnapped from near her residence in Nehru Nagar. Cops have stitched the sequence of events of the day Pancharam committed suicide. "After spending the whole day home, he left in the evening saying he needed to get a phone recharge. At 8:30pm, his son Sunil called him asking about his whereabouts. An inebriated Pancharam said he's nearby," the officer said.

Soon after that, Sunil received the call informing him that his father had been found dead on the tracks near Tilak Nagar railway station. "Pancharam accused five persons of his daughter's disappearance in the five-page suicide note. He blamed Nehru Nagar cops for 'inaction'," said another cop.

Pancharam's family reached Sion Hospital after finding out about his death. They waited for a couple of hours to claim the body but returned home soon after receiving a call from a local politician. "The politician, whom we have identified, told them not to claim the body. There were deliberate attempts to keep the body in the mortuary and prolong the issue," the cop added.

A relative of the same politician was seen at the funeral procession and the rasta roko which led to the attack on policemen and vandalism. Meanwhile, Chembur cops have arrested 19 more persons in connection to the attack, taking the number of arrested accused to 52. More people, who probably fled to Rajasthan, are being hunted down.

"It was also surprising that while his clothes were soaked in blood, the suicide note did not have even one drop of blood. In addition, how could Pancharam, who could barely write, have written a five-page suicide note," the cop added. Police have taken written samples from Pancharam's home and sent them to a handwriting expert along with the suicide note. Sources also revealed that Pancharam had a debt of Rs 5-7 lakh.

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