Mohan Delkar, a seven-time MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was found dead in a hotel in Mumbai. It is suspected that he committed suicide at the Marine Drive hotel on Monday.
Police reached the hotel where Delkar allegedly committed suicide. An investigation has been initiated in the case. Delkar’s body has been sent for post mortem.
An accidental death report has also been registered based on preliminary information, an official told PTI. The cause of death will be known after autopsy, he added.
Delkar apparently committed suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan in his room which is on the fifth floor of the sea-facing hotel in South Mumbai. According to PTI, the Mumbai Police has also recovered a suicide note in Gujarati from his hotel room and further investigation is currently underway.
Mohan Delkar, 58, was an Independent Member of Parliament. He was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha in May 2019. He was also a member of the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice and a member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs of the Lower House.
He won six consecutive elections from his constituency during 1989-2009, failing to retain the seat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and 2014. However, he successfully contested the 17th Lok Sabha as an Independent candidate.
He had left the Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Last year, Mohan Delkar tied up with the JD(U) for the local election in Dadra and Nagar Haveli after a meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. His support to the JD(U) resulted in a loss of seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the local polls in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
He was born in Silvassa and was an agriculturist by profession. He was also an advocate for tribal rights and had begun his career as a trade union leader.
His last tweet was posted on October 22, 2020, in which he extended birthday wishes to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Delkar is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.