Death of wife, daughter leaves arrested corporate ministry official stunned

Bal Kishan Bansal, a senior official of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs arrested on bribery charges, was in a state of deep shock and sobbing while attending the last rites of his wife and daughter who committed suicide on Tuesday, a lawyer said.

Bansal, who was granted interim bail till July 22 by a special court to attend the last rites, was stunned after hearing of the tragedy, defence counsel Anil Sharma told IANS.

His wife Satyabala, 57, and daughter Neha, 27, allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday noon at his flat in Neelkanth Apartments in east Delhi's Madhu Vihar area.

"Bansal was in deep shock," Sharma told IANS.

Sharma told the court that the accused is in shock and was admitted in the trauma centre of Ram Manohar Lohia hospital on Tuesday night.

Sharma told IANS that Bansal was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon and was taken to attend the last rites at Nigambodh Ghat in east Delhi.

"He was crying," the advocate said.

Bansal, accused of receiving Rs 9 lakh from Mumbai-based Elder Pharmaceuticals, was arrested on bribery charges on Saturday.

His wife and daughter allegedly committed suicide over two CBI raids at their residence within three days.

Sharma said that he moved an application seeking Bansal's interim bail before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Gurdeep Singh so that he can attend last rites of his wife and daughter.

The court granted him interim bail till July 22, after CBI did not oppose his bail plea.

"Bansal's son, who was reportedly on the run, reached the house late on Tuesday night after hearing the news," sources told IANS.

Sharma told the court that Bansal's son was in such a state of shock that he was unable to attend to visitors at the house and has been sitting like a statue.

Sharma said later that Bansal's son was able to perform the last rites of his sister and mother.

Bansal was presented before a Delhi court on Tuesday evening where the CBI apprised a sessions judge about the tragedy and requested him to pass an appropriate order in the regard.

The sessions judge allowed Bansal to speak to his relatives after informing him that some unfortunate incident has taken place at his house, court sources said.

"When Bansal called up one his relatives, he came to know about the death of his wife and daughter. He was shocked, and then the court staff and CBI officials present in the court room tried to console him," the court sources told IANS.

The sources said that Bansal was offered water.

Bansal was accused of receiving Rs 9 lakh from Mumbai-based Elder Pharmaceuticals.

During investigation, the CBI is said to have found that the senior officer owned 20 properties in Haryana's Sirsa, Gurgaon and Faridabad as well as Delhi.

All the properties were bought in the last two years and most were in the names of Bansal, his wife and son.

(Amiya Kumar Kushwaha can be reached at amiya.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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