A Congress delegation today met Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and demanded registration of a case against state PWD Minister Rampal Singh and his family members in connection with a woman's alleged suicide.
Preeti Raghuvanshi (28) allegedly committed suicide at her parents' house at Udaipura in Raisen district on March 16. Her family members alleged that she was married to the minister's son Girjesh, who was planning to marry a second time.
The delegation, led by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ajay Singh and state Congress chief Arun Yadav, also demanded that the minister be removed from the state cabinet.
In a memorandum handed over to the governor, the opposition party said the woman's father, in his complaint to police, has blamed Rampal Singh, his wife, their son Girjesh and another son for her death.
"So a First Information Report should be registered against them immediately," the memorandum said.
The family members of the minister should also be charged for criminal conspiracy under the IPC as they got Girjesh Singh engaged to another woman despite knowing that he was married to Preeti, it said.
Had the minister accepted her as his daughter-in-law, she would not have taken the extreme step, it claimed.
Earlier, Congress leaders staged a silent protest at Roshanpura Crossing before heading for the Raj Bhawan.
According to the Congress' memorandum, Girjesh and Preeti got married in an Arya Samaj Temple on June 20, 2017.
Due to a ruckus created by Congress MLAs demanding a debate in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on the alleged suicide, the Budget session of the House was adjourned sine die yesterday, a week ahead of its scheduled culmination.
A day before that, Girjesh Singh participated in rituals held after the last rites of the woman, under pressure from the members of her community.
The minister later told reporters that he was aware that his son participated in the rituals, adding that if his son had accepted the woman as his (late) wife, he too accepted her as his daughter-in-law.
Jagat Singh Rajput, Superintendent of Police, Raisen, said that police have registered a case of unnatural death under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and were recording the statements of people who lived in the woman's neighbourhood.
No suicide case has been registered yet.
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