In an embarrassment for the ruling Congress in Rajasthan, party leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday visited the protest site where BJP MP Kirori Lal Meena is sitting on a dharna with the family of a man who allegedly killed himself recently. Poured.
The former deputy chief minister called for “visible” justice to be given to the family without delay.
Ramprasad Meena, 38, hanged himself in a godown on Monday over an alleged land dispute.
In a video recorded before his death, he accused cabinet minister Mahesh Joshi and some others of creating problems for his family in connection with a land dispute and blamed them for his extreme step.
The family had refused to hand over the body to the police for post-mortem till the accused were arrested, but they agreed to go to the godown where Ramprasad had hanged himself on Thursday and where his body is kept.
Additional District Magistrate (South) Mohammad Abubakr said the postmortem was done in the evening but the family is yet to accept the body. He said that efforts are being made to pacify them.
The family has also demanded compensation and a government job for a family member.
Kirorilal Meena is part of the dharna at Chandi ki Taksal located in Subhash Chowk for the last three days. He said that Meena Samaj will collect an amount of Rs 50 lakh and give it to the family members.
Pilot, who is involved in a power tussle with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the state unit of the Congress, demanded a fair and time-bound probe into the matter after meeting family members at the protest site near his house. He also talked to Kirori Lal Meena during the tour.
Gehlot later said during a meeting with officials that the incident was “very sad” and the district authorities should act immediately to save the poor from harassment by influential people, according to a statement.
“A person from ST community has committed suicide. It is a shock if someone loses his life. Very heart breaking incident. I talked to his father, brother and son and they said many things.
“The victim’s family should get justice. Justice should not be delayed and justice should also be visible.
When asked that family members have said they are feeling an atmosphere of fear, Pilot said, “The family is speaking, so there must be pressure. I don’t understand why there is delay? The proofs are coming. If action is seen, it will instill confidence in them.
Pilot said there are video statements and other evidence which should be considered during the investigation.
“This is a very poor family and it is the responsibility of all of us, whoever is the accused, there should be a fair investigation. The family must believe that justice will be done.”
In the video statement, Ramprasad Meena alleged that Joshi and others caused a lot of trouble to his family, hence he was forced to take the extreme step.
Later Kirorilal Meena said that Ramprasad had gone to meet Meena Joshi because his family did not get help from anywhere. He said the family members told him that the minister insulted and pushed him.
The BJP leader alleged, “He became depressed due to the minister’s harassment and embraced death.”
Joshi, the local MLA (from Hawa Mahal seat), denied the allegations, saying he did not misbehave with the family when they visited them on April 13.
After the departure of the pilot, Kirori Lal Meena said that it was good that a senior leader of the Congress party met the family members. He said that Pilot has spoken to the media about the things that Ramprasad Meena’s family has been saying.
He said that the main demand of the family is the arrest of the accused.
Meena claimed that three accused Rakesh Tank, Dev Awasthi and Lal Devnani have been taken into custody, but this has not been confirmed by any police officer.
Earlier in the day, Congress MLA Harish Meena, considered close to Pilot, had also met the family members.
Pilot had observed a day-long fast in Jaipur last week, alleging inaction by the Gehlot government on complaints of alleged corruption during the previous Vasundhara Raje regime.
He also did not attend two of the party’s programs in Jaipur recently.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)