New Delhi: Former minister in Uttarakhand government and a roadways union leader, Rajendra Bahuguna took his life in Haldwani city of the hill state after his daughter-in-law accused him of molesting his granddaughter, reported news agency Press Trust of India.
The incident took place in Haldwani’s Bhagat Singh colony on Wednesday when the former minister climbed up to a water tank and shot himself dead as witnesses and passerby watched in horror.
Bahuguna, 59, was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the basis of complaint lodged by his daughter-in-law, said Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital, Pakaj Bhatt, quoted by the news agency.
The police had received Bahuguna’s call on 112 where he told about his suicide plan before he went up to the water tank, reported NDTV. When the police arrived, they saw him standing on the tank, threatening to kill himself. The police tried to persuade him to talk to him through the loudspeaker, but he repeatedly said that he was falsely framed. The publication further reported that at a time it looked like he had agreed to come down but suddenly took out a country-made pistol and shot himself dead.
"A police team immediately reached the spot and tried to convince him to get down, to which he initially agreed. However, he suddenly picked up a country-made pistol he was carrying and shot himself. He was declared 'brought dead' at a hospital. The man ended his life even before the police could take the statement of the minor girl,” said the SSP, quoted by the Times of India.
Bahugna’s son has filed a complaint against his wife for abetting his father’s suicide.
He was a minister of state for a year from 2004-05 during the chief ministership of N.D. Tiwari was associated with the Congress party.