Former General Secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee and party spokesperson Mahadev Shelar committed suicide at his house in Mulund on Saturday afternoon.
Akhilesh Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone VII, said that the 64-year-old Shelar was found dead at around 2.30 p.m. by his wife who returned home from the market. She rushed him to hospital, but doctors declared him brought dead.
Mr. Singh said that a suicide note was found in the house and preliminary investigation indicates that illness drove him to take the extreme step. The police have registered a case of accidental death and are investigating the matter.
Shelar was known for his calm nature among party workers. Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, said, “He was soft spoken and happy by nature. The party has lost a leader who had integrity and absolute trust in the Congress’s ideology. In his capacity as the general secretary of the party, he worked as a bridge between the citizens and ministers by organising janta darbars. Personally, I have lost a friend.”
A lawyer by profession, Shelar specialised in the co-operative sector and was on the board of directors of the Mumbai District Co-operative Bank. Shelar rose to importance during the term of his close friend and former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. He, however, was never elected to the Legislative Assembly or Council. He fought an Assembly election in 2009 from Mulund constituency, but lost.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ashok Chavan said, “We have lost a committed Congressman in the form of Mahadev Shelar. His commitment to the party’s ideology was unquestionable.”
