Purported suicide note of Kalikho Pul raises a stink in Delhi

The widow of former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul, who committed suicide last year, on Friday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into his death.

"It is essential that an FIR be registered on the basis of the allegations contained in it (suicide note) and the case be investigated by the CBI since primary allegations are of corruption of judges at the highest level," Dangwimsai Pul said in her appeal to the Chief Justice of India, a copy of which she made public at a press conference. The full text of the purported suicide note can be read here.

National Herald has not been able to independently confirm the authenticity of the suicide note.

The suicide note names two retired top judges of the Supreme Court and two top sitting judges through their son and brother respectively, on whose behalf the deceased claimed demands for money were made to him. The note also names several lawyers, politicians and bureaucrats.

The widow, reported PTI, alleged that her family was receiving threats from Arunachal Pradesh Government and that she was advised against holding the press conference where she made the late chief minister's suicide note public.

"Ever since the (suicide) note surfaced in the media, my family including myself, my children and relatives have been subjected to various threats from different quarters," she claimed.

The authenticity of the suicide note, however, is being subjected to several conspiracy theories. While doubts have been cast on the genuineness of the 60-page note typed on computer in Sanskritised Hindi, there is also speculation that the note has been ‘planted’ to discredit the judiciary and eventually clip the wings of the Supreme Court collegium.

In an explosive scoop earlier this month the portal TheWire.in claimed to have accessed the suicide note written by Kalikho Pul on August 8, 2016, the day before he committed suicide at Itanagar. Another portal TheQuint.com has also reported extensively on the controversy.

The suicide note, bearing the signature of the deceased on every page, had been seized by the police. Besides the allegations made against individuals, the note makes the following points:

• A small state like Arunachal Pradesh with a population of just 15 lakhs elects an Assembly with 60 MLAs, as many as 12 of whom become ministers.
• These elected MLAs and ministers appear to acquire a licence to mint money and have amassed wealth disproportionate to their income and means.
• Huge amounts of money have poured into the state from the Centre for Relief Work, Tourism, Urban Development and Power Projects. Much of it is siphoned off and sent either to politicians in Delhi or shared by ministers, MLAs, bureaucrats and engineers in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The bureaucrats including the Chief Secretary and Secretaries are guilty of destroying official files and misrepresenting the case of the state in courts, ensuring that the state loses cases in court.
• Most projects drag on for 8-9 years, the cost escalates and everyone involved makes money.

Referring to the present chief minister Pema Khandu, a former Congress leader now with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the note says “On social media (Facebook and WhatsApp) it is being said that Pema Khandu has ₹1,700 crore in cash, and it is being asked from where he has got it.”

Referring to the present Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, the note says, “Chowna Mein is the most corrupt. In every department that has been under his charge, his name has come under a cloud.”

In the note Pul says he had joined Congress in 1986 following the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s candid admission that while the Centre sent ₹100 to the state, only ₹25 reached the people. But over the years he found his experience with several Congress leaders frustrating. The note also alleges that while Congress leaders like Salman Khurshid and Ghulam Nabi Azad were sympathetic and tried to help him, others openly demanded money for ‘party fund’ and for themselves.

The note also alleges that he was asked for a payment of ₹90 crore for a favourable judgment from the Supreme Court, which had declared his four-month old Government unconstitutional and reinstated the Congress Government headed by Nabam Tuki.

In a crushing indictment of the state’s MLAs and bureaucrats, the note alleges that no action is taken against them because “legislators and ministers want chief ministers like PK Thongun, Gegong Apang, Dorjee Khandu, Nabam Tuki and Pema Khandu, against whom there are cases under way in the high court and Supreme Court, because these are the very people who can bribe officials and the judiciary.”

Disclaimer: National Herald is not in a position to verify the authenticity of the suicide note