Gujarat doctor suicide case: BJP MP, father booked for abetment

Veraval: The Gujarat police have filed a first information report (FIR) against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament (MP) Rajesh Chudasma and his father Naran Chudasama on the charges of abetment to suicide and criminal intimidation after a doctor from Veraval town in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district died allegedly by suicide three months ago.  

A first information report (FIR) under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 306 (abetment to suicide) and 506-2 (criminal intimidation) was registered on Monday against the MP, who represents the Junagadh Lok Sabha seat, and his father Naranbhai said inspector SM Israni of Veraval City police station.

No arrest has been made in the case yet, said the official.

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The FIR was registered on the complaint of Hitarth Chag, whose father Dr Atul Chag was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his home in Veraval town on February 12.

Dr Chag, an MD, was a well-known doctor of the Veraval region. After his death, police found a one-line note blaming the MP and his father.

When the police refused to register a case against the Chudasama duo based on his father’s “suicide” note, Hitarth filed a contempt petition with the Gujarat High Court seeking action against the cops. However, the HC dismissed his petition earlier this month.

“It may be that the applicant is aggrieved by the action of the respondent (police officials) but remedy is not the present petition, it must be before the appropriate forum,” the bench had concluded as per a media report in The Indian Express.

It was immediately not known what prompted the police to register the FIR now.

As per the FIR, the MP and his father had a close relationship with Dr Chag for the last 20 years and the duo had borrowed nearly Rs 1.75 crore from the doctor in instalments since 2008 by winning his trust. They allegedly gave Dr Chag a few cheques.

However, when the MP and his father stopped responding to Dr Chag’s repeated requests to return the money, the latter deposited one of the cheques of Rs 90 lakh in the bank but it was dishonoured.

Days before the suicide, the duo had verbally abused Dr Chag and also threatened to kill Hitarth for demanding the money back, the FIR said. The threat and the thought of losing money deeply upset the doctor, who took the extreme step out of shock and fear, the FIR added.

“Around a year ago, while I was sitting with my father in his office, Naran Chudasama, Rajesh Chudasama and his brother Ketan Chudasama walked in. That time also, as he had lent a huge amount, my father, in a stern tone, demanded the money back. I too told them that it did not behove people like them to win someone’s trust and then dupe them of such a huge amount. However, Rajesh and Naran began shouting at me and issuing death threats,” the FIR quotes Hitarth as having stated.

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