NEW DELHI, Feb 22: The seven-term Lok Sabha member from the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Mohan Delkar, was found dead in a Mumbai hotel on Monday, police said.
The body of Delkar (58), Independent MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was found at the sea-facing hotel in south Mumbai’s Marine Drive area, a police official said.
The official said a note in Gujarati, purportedly written before his death, was also found along with the body. The police suspect it could be a case of suicide but said the cause of death would be known only after autopsy.
The police believed that the note found along with the body could be his suicidal note but refused to confirm the cause of the death till autopsy. An accidental death report is being registered based on preliminary information, the official said.
Delkar was a member of the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice and a member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs of the Lower House.
He is survived by wife, a son and a daughter.
An advocate for tribal rights, Mohan Sanjibhai Delkar began his career as a trade union leader in Silvassa. He was first elected to the 9th Lok Sabha from Dadra and Nagar Haveli constituency in 1989 as a Congress nominee.
He won six consecutive elections from the constituency during 1989-2009, failing to retain the seat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and 2014. However, he successfully contested the 17th Lok Sabha as an Independent candidate.
Delkar won the 1989, 1991 and 1996 elections as a Congress candidate and the 1998 election as a BJP candidate.
He rejoined the Congress and unsuccessfully contested in 2009 and 2014.
(Manas Dasgupta)