Netas, civic staff booked for driving builder to suicide

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Thane: A case of abetment and under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against yet-to-be-identified political functionaries and civic officials in the suicide case of builder Suraj Parmar who shot himself last week.

Parmar, in his 22-page note, had written down the accused's names but later, he scratched them out, fearing for the safety of his family.

The police on Monday revised the accidental death report they had filed after Parmar, chairman of Cosmos Group, was found dead at his construction site in Ovala last Wednesday with a bullet injury on the right side of his neck. "We are awaiting a forensic laboratory report to find out the names of the people mentioned in the note," said an officer. Cops claimed they have secured sizeable leads. A source said the police have seized mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets used by Parmar.

Officials who have access to Parmar's note told that the real estate developer had stated: "I wanted to end my life in an accident. However, I thought an accidental death will not help to send the message I want to give about the policy failures concerning the housing sector and the political harassment."

Parmar reportedly asked his driver to get off at Cadbury junction in Thane last Wednesday and drove down to his office in Ovala armed with his licenced .32 bore revolver.

It is learnt that the builder also mentioned that while PM Narendra Modi has announced affordable homes for citizens, corrupt politicians, and archaic laws framed in 1960s were still governing the industry and that the number of NOCs is a cause of concern.

He has written that builders have no answers to customers' queries on completion of projects due to stays and notices issued to them by the civic body. He stated that local corporators, in nexus with civic officials, get notices sent to builders and in return, they (builders) have to pay at every turn. In the note, he has repeatedly mentioned he was not under any kind of debt.