Couple whose kids gave Rahul Gandhi piggy bank during BJY found hanging in MP

A week after the ED (Enforcement Directorate) conducted raids at businessman Manoj Parmar and his wife's properties in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh, the couple have reportedly been found dead by suicide, with Parmar's family claiming that he and his wife were harassed by the investigative agency.

The state Congress said the victims were party supporters and the ED harassed them over their political leanings. The couple’s children had gifted their piggybank to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, the party said. Several pro-Congress handles shared the video of Gandhi interacting with the two children on X.

The state's ruling BJP hit back at the Opposition party, accusing it of “playing politics over death”. The police said Parmar and his wife died by suicide in the Ashta town on Friday morning.

Patwari, who visited Parmar’s family, termed the deaths “state murder”. Seeking an answer from PM Modi, Patwari said the ED raided Parmar as he was a Congress supporter. Patwari's senior party colleague Digvijaya Singh also levelled similar charges.

According to Ashta’s sub-divisional police officer Akash Amalkarm, the police are yet to ascertain why the couple took the extreme step.

Meanwhile, the ED’s Bhopal zonal office has said in a statement that the agency carried out search operations on 5 December at four premises in MP’s Sehore and Indore districts in connection with the matter of Parmar and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The search covered the residential premises of the key persons who were the beneficiaries of the “proceeds of crime” or have actively aided or abetted such persons in a bank fraud, the ED said, and claimed to have recovered “incriminating” documents.

The ED said it recorded the statements of certain persons during the raid and a bank balance of Rs 3.5 lakh was frozen. Details of four immovable properties of the key persons were also found during the searches, it said.

As per the statement, the ED launched an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Parmar and a senior branch manager of Punjab National Bank.

The ED has alleged that loans worth nearly Rs 6 crore were availed under the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme and Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana but the funds were diverted to proprietorship concerns or firms and were subsequently withdrawn in cash for investment in properties. The ED investigation is underway, said the statement.