A worker of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena allegedly killed himself in Maharashtra's Thane district on Wednesday, with the party claiming that he was upset after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a notice to MNS chief Raj Thackeray in connection with IL&FS scam.
Pravin Chowgule (27), the deceased, left no suicide note, Thane police said.
Thackeray, who is to appear before the ED here on Thursday, however, said in his statement that Chowgule ended life after learning about the ED notice. The MNS chief appealed party workers not to take any extreme step.
According to police sub-inspector Mahesh Kawde, Chowgule was an alcoholic and suffered from depression.
He allegedly doused himself with kerosene and set himself on fire at his residence in Kalwa area around 10 pm on Tuesday, Kawde said. He was declared 'brought dead' at a local hospital.
"No suicide note was found," Kawde said, adding that Chowgule lived alone and worked as a tourist car operator.
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"He used to be depressed and was a liquor addict. He had attempted suicide on two-three occasions earlier," the official said.
MNS Thane unit spokesman Nainesh Patankar alleged that Chowgule took the step as he was "depressed and angry" over the ED's notice to Raj Thackeray, and before ending life, he had expressed his feelings on Facebook.
Another party worker said Chowgule was "worried" and constantly talking about Thackeray getting the ED notice.
In his statement released on Twitter, Raj Thackeray said he was deeply pained.
"I am deeply pained after learning about the death of Praveen Chowule. He took the extreme step of immolating himself after getting perturbed by the news of ED sending me a notice. This should not have happened. May his soul rest in peace," the MNS chief said.
"I request all party workers not to take any extreme step. I have been through such cases earlier as well and I will come out of it," he said.
"I have learned that some party workers are still planning to visit the ED office tomorrow when I will be there. If you have faith in me, you will not come there," he added.
"I repeat that we should not take any step that would create nuisance for common citizens and damage any public or private property," the MNS chief said.
The ED is probing alleged irregularities related to loans and equity investment worth over Rs 450 crore by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) in Kohinoor CTNL Infrastructure Company which is developing Kohinoor Square tower in Mumbai's Dadar area.
Thackeray was one of the partners in the company. He reportedly sold off his stake in 2008. Another partner, Unmesh Joshi, the son of Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, has been questioned by the ED.