In a significant development, police in Maharashtra’s Latur district on Tuesday filed three charge sheets against five individuals accused of fabricating suicide notes of people who had recently ended their lives, news agency PTI reported.
According to authorities, the accused attempted to mislead law enforcement agencies and the Maharashtra Government by producing falsified documents to exert pressure for caste-based reservations, jobs, and financial compensation. The purported suicide notes, allegedly written by the suicide victims, were found to have been forged by relatives or acquaintances to push the government on quota-related issues and claims for aid.
Police revealed that the accused deliberately created false notes, making them appear as if they were authored by the suicide victims. Forensic analysis and scientific examination confirmed that the documents had been intentionally forged to mislead officers, PTI reported.
The forgery came to light earlier this month, following which the police reclassified all the alleged suicides as accidental deaths. However, authorities did not disclose the total number of such cases.
The accused — Dhanaji Shivaji Mule (38), Madhav Ramrao Pitale (43), Shivaji Fattu Jadhav (58), Narendra Vitthal Jakkalwad (26), and Tanaji Madhukar Jadhav (25) — face criminal cases registered at Ahmadpur, Nilanga, and Chakur police stations in Latur, according to PTI.
The offences fall under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to forgery, using forged documents as genuine, furnishing false evidence, and providing false information to a public servant. Each offence carries a potential punishment of up to seven years in jail.
During their investigation, police collected evidence demonstrating how the accused had fabricated the suicide notes. The individuals were detained for questioning but not formally arrested, and reportedly confessed to their roles in the crime.
Based on the evidence and confessions, police filed three separate charge sheets in tehsil courts with jurisdiction over the police stations where the cases were registered. Authorities stated that the charge sheets provide a detailed account of the forgery, the methods employed, and the role of each accused in manipulating documents to mislead government agencies and officers.
Police officers emphasized that the investigation aims to ensure accountability and to prevent the misuse of suicide reports for personal or political gains.
(With PTI inputs)
https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/maharashtra-police-file-charge-sheets-against-five-in-latur-for-forging-suicide-notes-23598696
