A war of words broke out between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh over the tragic suicide of a businessman and his wife, who allegedly faced harassment by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Businessman Manoj Parmar and his wife Neha were found hanging in their house in Ashta town of Sehore district on Friday.

Advertisement

According to sources, the police recovered a suicide note, reportedly addressed to the President, the PM, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, and several others. In the suicide note, the deceased businessman allegedly held the ED responsible for his and his wife’s extreme steps.

Manoj Parmar’s children had gifted a gullak (money bank) to Rahul Gandhi when his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ crossed Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Jitu Patwari reached Ashta on Saturday and met the three children of the deceased couple. Patwari alleged that the suicide was a ‘state-sponsored murder’ and accused the BJP of using central agencies against those who supported the Congress.

Former MP CM and Congress Rajya Sabha Member Digvijaya Singh also demanded Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman conduct an inquiry into the matter through the ED Director.

Countering the Congress charges, MP BJP spokesperson Ashish Agrawal said the suicide was a tragic incident, but the Congress was trying to exploit it for political gains and selfish interests.

Meanwhile, the ED issued a statement informing that search operations were carried out at four places in Sehore and Indore linked to Manoj Parmar and others on 5 December in connection with an ongoing investigation into bank fraud.

The ED stated that the searches were part of an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Parmar and a senior branch manager of Punjab National Bank (PNB).

According to Ashta Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Akash Amalkar, the police are thoroughly examining all aspects of the matter and further investigations are on.