In suicide note, contractor says civic body chief harassed him

A contractor, who committed suicide last week, had accused Barmer municipal council chairman and two other officials of demanding bribe for releasing his payments, a charge denied by the civic body chief.

Babulal Mansuriya, a dalit, ended life on Saturday by jumping into a water tank outside his house in Barmer city. Police recovered the body on Sunday.

In a four-page note, Mansuriya said he was committing suicide as the council chairman harassed him for two and a half years. He also mentioned that a ghost haunted him for seven years, said police who found on Tuesday the note kept in a book in Mansuriya’s room.

Refuting the allegations, council chairman Lunkaran Bothra said he had not sat over files related to payments to the contractor. “Whenever Babulal had met me and requested for payment, I signed the papers immediately,” Bothra said.

The contractor’s family members met Barmer SP Gagandeep Singla, demanding a fair probe. “Police have started investigation on the basis of the suicide note. There are so many names in the note; police will investigate the case carefully,” Singla said.

In the note, Mansuriya alleged that Bothra and two junior executive engineers — Ritesh Ranjan and Purkha Ram — blocked his payments. “The council chairman intentionally delayed his payments to give undue benefits to some of his relatives,” the note alleged. “I met the chairman on May 15 and requested him to release my payment. The chairman not only abused me but also threatened me,” said the note.

Mansuriya also mentioned in the note that a ghost was giving him sleepless nights.