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.
According to police, the accused had deliberately created false notes, making them appear as if they were authored by 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. The authorities, however, 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, PTI reported.
The offences fall under the sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to forgery, using forged documents as genuine, furnishing false evidence, and providing false information to a public servant. Each of these offences carries a potential punishment of up to seven years in jail.
During their probe, the police collected evidence to prove how the accused had fabricated the suicide notes. The individuals, who were detained for questioning but not formally arrested, reportedly confessed their roles in the crime.
Based on the evidence and confessions, the police filed three separate charge sheets in tehsil courts with jurisdiction over the police stations where the cases were registered. Authorities said 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 emphasised that the investigation aimed to ensure accountability and prevent misuse of suicide reports for personal or political gains.
(With PTI inputs)