Police investigating the alleged suicide of Thane-based realtor Suraj Parmar has found that he had initially written down the names of six people, who were allegedly extorting money from him, but later scribbled out the names from his suicide note.
Parmar, chairman of the Cosmos Group, was found dead at his construction site at Ovala on Wednesday with a single bullet injury on his neck, from a shot fired from his licensed .32 bore revolver. Senior Thane police officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said investigators found that the names he attempted to scribble out were those of current Thane corporators. However, they did not reveal the names. They said Parmar also wrote at the end of the 18-page suicide note that he was scribbling out the names for fear that it could later lead to unnecessary harassment to his family members. Thane police commissioner Param Bir Singh refused to confirm the information but said police have sent the suicide note to the forensic lab to ascertain the names. Once the report is received and criminality determined, police will file an abetment to suicide case.The report is expected soon, he said.
In his suicide note, Parmar had blamed extortion attempts by the six as one of the reasons for taking the extreme step. The builder said in the note that the six had taken money from him but now their demands were exorbitant, which was one of the reasons he was committing suicide.
In the note, Parmar also thanked Thane’s municipal commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal for his support. Parmar also mentioned that he had made many mistakes in some projects and some of his associates did not support him.
Parmar was cremated at at Jawahar Baug crematorium on Thursday. Mukesh Sawala, founder president of Maharashta Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), Thane said, “The death of Parmar is shocking and unfortunate, everyone knows the system here and the corruption which is deeply rooted. There is a wrong notion that builders are robbers, but no one understands how a plan is passed and how much money the builder has to pour in. There should be a time-bound process to pass plans through government agencies. Parmar should have fought against the injustice rather than commit suicide.” Another builder, Jitendra Mehta said, “Parmar was known for fighting his nature and we are shocked by the step he has taken. The concerned government agency should understand the problems of builders and should take appropriate steps to rectify problems faced by them.”