FIR against Rajasthan minister for abetment to suicide

An FIR has been lodged against Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi and seven others for allegedly abetting the suicide of a youth here, police said on Tuesday.

The FIR was registered on a complaint by Mahavir Meena, brother of deceased Ram Prasad Meena (43) late on Monday night. The victim's family alleged that the minister did not allow them to build a house on their own land.

In his complaint, Mahavir Meena said that the deceased had told him that the temple directors and Hawamahal MLA and cabinet minister Mahesh Joshi were pressuring and harassing him to vacate the land, as per police.

"These people would hurl casteist slurs on my family and ask us not to live near the temple. We had taken the lease of this land from the Municipal Corporation in 2017."

Irate relatives of the deceased have kept the body at home for the past 24 hours. They have locked the room in which Ram Prasad died by suicide and are sitting on a strike demanding action against the accused at the earliest.

Ram Prasad had also made a video before dying wherein he can be heard saying that despite all the documents of his land, he is not being allowed to build a house.

"Devendra Sharma of Girdhari Ji Mandir, Lalit Sharma, owner of Hotel Royal Sheraton Munji Tank, Deva Awasthi, Lalchand Devnani and cabinet minister Mahesh Joshi have harassed me because of which I am going to kill myself.

"Owing to the stress, my mother Gulabi Devi and wife Suman Meena keep unwell. Even after giving complaints everywhere, there has been no hearing. I request MP Kirori Lal Meena to provide justice to my family," he said in his video.

Notably, Ram Prasad lived near the Kale Hanuman Mandir. His land is only 200 meters away from here. There is a dispute regarding this land. The deceased wanted to build a house on his own land.

It is alleged that many people, including Mahesh Joshi, used to repeatedly stop him from building a house. Even after having all the documents of the land, guards were placed outside his house for the same.

According to Subhash Chowk Police Station officials, "Late night FIR has been registered on the complaint given by the family. Eight people are named in the FIR. Since the name of the minister from the state government is mentioned in the report, it will be sent to CID (CB) for investigation by PHQ and higher officials."

Meanwhile, state minister Mahesh Joshi dismissed the allegations as "baseless". "I will read the FIR first. Only after it, I will be able to comment on the matter," he added.