The teenager, son of Raju Langda, main accused in Malwani hooch tragedy, hung himself from a ceiling fan but was luckily spotted by an uncle; cops say locals had been harassing him because of his father
The Malwani hooch tragedy nearly claimed another life yesterday, when the son of the main accused in the case tried to kill himself. According to the police, the teenager was facing harassment and abuse regularly at the hands of locals after the deadly mix of liquor his father served ended up killing 106 people last month.
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The 17-year-old is the son of main accused Raju Paskar alias Raju Langda, and it was the killer brew which had methanol served at Paskar’s hooch joint in Malwani that caused the deaths of 106 people. According to the Malwani police, the boy stays in a single room and the adjacent room is occupied by his uncle.
At around 12.30 pm yesterday, the youth was alone at home and hung himself from the ceiling fan. Luckily, his uncle saw him and took the boy to Oscar Hospital, where doctors managed to save him. However, his condition remains critical.
Bearing the brunt
According to the police, after Raju Langda was arrested, it was his son who bore the brunt of his father’s alleged crimes. The boy’s uncle told the police that neighbours and locals would often pass comments and launch jibes at the boy whenever he passed by; families of those who had died in the tragedy would hurl abuses, with some allegedly even resorting to beating him up.
A police officer said they hadn’t found any suicide note in the house, but that the hooch tragedy had deeply affected the boy. Police said the teenager would often cry to himself at home for what his father had done and the treatment meted out to him after the incident came to light. Milind Khetle, senior police inspector, Malwani police, confirmed that the boy had attempted suicide and that investigations are on.