Patna: A pall of gloom has descended in the ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U) camp after party general secretary Pragati Mehta’s wife committed suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan on Tuesday night.
The incident took place at Mehta’s native village at Patsanda under Gidhaur police station in Jamui district. The reason behind her suicide is said to be ongoing tensions in the family.
Reports quoting police sources said the couple had gone to bed after dinner on Tuesday night. Their 18-month-old daughter Divyansi was also sleeping with her parents.
“When I woke up early in the morning, I found my wife missing from the bed and went searching for her. Soon I found her hanging from the ceiling fan in the adjacent room,” Mehta told police on Wednesday.
The victim, identified as Khusaboo Kumari, a resident of Samastipur district, and Mehta, a journalist-turned-political leader, married about four years back. The police have recovered the body and begun an investigation into the case.
Mehta joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal ahead of last Lok Sabha polls and later contested the parliamentary elections from Munger seat, where he lost. After chief minister Nitish Kumar broke away from the RJD and formed government with the main rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mehta, who was serving as party spokesperson, later joined the JD-U.
