Self-styled godman arrested after man dies by suicide over alleged harassment

A 30yearold man in Maharashtrarsquos Jalna district allegedly took his own life after enduring persistent harassment from a selfstyled godman police reported The accused a 45yearold man was apprehended following the tragic incident which occurred on Monday in Walsa Wadala village of Bhokardan tehsil according to police inspector Kiran BidveAs per PTI the victim and his 25yearold wife had visited a temple at Dhamangaon located in the neighbouring Buldhana district where they came into contact with the accused Following this encounter the accused allegedly began harassing the couple frequently making unsolicited phone calls and subjecting them to unreasonable demandsPTI reports that the accused made the shocking claim that the couplersquos daughter was actually his and insisted that they hand her over to him When the couple firmly refused the accused resorted to intimidation tactics sending threatening notes to the victim Furthermore he allegedly made repeated attempts to harass the victimrsquos wifeFaced with relentless harassment and unable to bear the distress any longer the victim took the extreme step of ending his life by hanging himself from a tree police sources said Upon learning of the incident law enforcement launched an investigation which led to the arrest of the accused on Tuesday from Gummi village in Buldhana districtMaharashtra Ajit Pawar criticises Jalna authorities over poor cleanliness standardsMaharashtra Deputy Chief MinisterAjit Pawarcriticised the local administration in Jalna for failing to maintain cleanliness in the city expressing strong disapproval during a speech at the inauguration of a private hospital on Monday Highlighting the deteriorating conditions he pointed out the alarming presence of garbage heaps across public spaces questioning the efforts of both officials and public representativesldquoI was horrified to see the condition of the city Why are public representatives not paying attention to this mess What are you doing Do you not see thisrdquo Pawar asked pointedly while addressing the gatheringAccording to PTI reports the Deputy Chief Minister referred to the state governmentrsquos 100day cleanliness drive questioning its impact in Jalna Despite the extensive campaign its results were not visible in the city Pawar statedPawar also brought attention to Maharashtrarsquos substantial annual revenue of Rs 7 lakh crore out of which Rs 35 lakh crore is spent on government employees salaries and pensions He demanded accountability from officials asking why these resources were not effectively utilised for maintaining basic standards of cleanlinessldquoWhy are these officials not being held accountable for maintainingcleanlinessrdquo he askedThe Deputy Chief Minister further referred to his visit to the residence of local MLA Arjun Khotkar noting that the surrounding area of the legislatorrsquos home was clean and wellmaintained Drawing a comparison he questioned why the same standards of cleanliness could not be extended across the rest of the cityldquoIf their residences can be clean who is responsible for ensuring the rest of the city is cleanrdquo he asked in a sharp tonePawar also pulled up the district collector for the lack of cleanliness at the collectorate itself making it clear that lapses at administrative levels would not be toleratedIn addition to criticising waste management Pawar expressed concern over industrial pollution caused by factories in the area He singled out the Pollution Control Board for failing to take action against factories violating environmental norms The Deputy Chief Minister urged officials to take immediate steps to address pollution which he said was a growing issue in JalnaWith inputs from PTI