Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul’s wife, Dangwimsai Pul, on Tuesday submitted a letter to Vice-President Hamid Ansari asking for an independent inquiry into his suicide. She was accompanied by lawyers and activists, including Prashant Bhushan, Harsh Mander, Yogendra Yadav, Anjali Bhardwaj and others, the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms said.
On February 17, she had written to Chief Justice of India JS Khehar demanding a CBI inquiry and released her husband’s 60-page suicide note in which he reportedly named several political leaders as well as Supreme Court judges involved in scams. She requested the vice-president to consult judges next in seniority to those mentioned in her husband’s suicide note.
On February 23, she had secured the Supreme Court’s approval to withdraw her letter to Khehar demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into his death, IANS reported. Her counsel Dushyant Dave had demanded to know who had instructed the court registry to list the letter for a Supreme Court hearing when it was “meant to be dealt with on administrative side”.
She said the apex court’s hearing of the matter “will lead to closure of other remedies”. Dave had said Ansari’s intervention would be sought as President Pranab Mukherjee’s name was also mentioned in her husband’s suicide note, IANS reported.
She had alleged that her family was getting threats from the Arunachal Pradesh government, reported The Hindu. She also accused the present state government of apathy and sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dangwimsai Pul added that unless those who are named in the suicide note step down, a fair investigation into her husband’s death cannot be conducted.
In the note, titled “Mere Vichaar”, the former chief minister had claimed that relatives of two Supreme Court judges had sought bribe worth Rs 86 crore from him for ensuring that President’s Rule in the state would not be declared illegal, reported The Telegraph. However, on July 13, 2016, the Supreme Court had quashed the President’s Rule that was imposed in January. The apex court had restored the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, reinstating Nabam Tuki’s leadership.
Meanwhile, a panel of jurists also made a similar demand. They said that a special investigation team should be set up by judges to probe the matter.
Pul was found hanging in his room on August 9, less than a month after the court’s ruling. Pema Khandu was then chosen by the Congress as the new chief minister, with the party saying that Tuki did not have enough support from party legislators.
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