Guwahati/Tezpur, Aug. 9: Kalikho Pul, who served as the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh from February 19 to July 13 this year, was found dead in his vipassana (meditation) room in the chief minister's bungalow in Itanagar this morning. It triggered a violent public protest seeking a proper inquiry into the "sudden and shocking" demise of the 47-year-old Congress leader.
Reports emanating from Itanagar said he was found hanging from a ceiling fan. One of his wives knocked on the door after finding it locked for longer than usual. He had gone into depression after the Supreme Court reinstalled the Nabam Tuki government on July 13 after declaring governor J.P. Rajkhowa's decision to advance the Assembly session by a month "unconstitutional".
Pul had "unseated" Tuki in an "illegal" Assembly session in December last year with the help of several dissident Congress MLAs and BJP legislators and had subsequently become the chief minister. Sources said as many as 30 Congress MLAs, who had joined the People's Party of Arunachal with him, were with Pul on July 15 this year - the eve of Tuki's floor test in the House after being reinstalled - as he prepared to stake claim to form the government in Arunachal. However, the PPA legislators returned to the Congress fold. They reportedly deserted Pul because they were not keen to switch over to the BJP like him and because he had started taking decisions independently. Pul, too, returned to the Congress.
Tuki resigned an hour before the floor test on July 16, paving the way for the unanimous election of Pema Khandu as the ninth chief minister of the frontier state.
Though Pul had attended Khandu's swearing-in on July 17, he was conspicuous by his absence during the expansion of the ministry on August 3.
In an official statement, the Pema Khandu-led cabinet said it was "shocked and shattered" by the news of "our senior colleague and a seasoned leader" taking this "extreme step of ending his life this morning at Itanagar". Extending its condolences, the cabinet also decided to cremate him with full state honours and declared state mourning for three days.
Pul's body was sent for post mortem to Naharlagun, around 12km from Itanagar, only in the afternoon because of the protests outside the chief minister's bungalow in Niti Vihar, which saw the houses of deputy chief minister Chowna Mein and senior minister Tapang Taloh vandalised. Over 20 vehicles outside the bungalow were also damaged by the protesters. Security has been tightened in and around Itanagar. Two additional companies of security personnel have been deployed to tackle any adverse law and order situation.
Arunachal chief secretary Shakuntala Gamlin told The Telegraph from Itanagar this evening, "A few houses and vehicles were damaged but the situation is under control now. His body will be kept at the chief minister's bungalow for people to pay their last respects in the evening and will be taken to his native place in Anjaw district for the funeral tomorrow." The body was brought back to the bungalow at 5pm.
Pul, according to Gamlin, died in his vipassana room in the chief minister's bungalow which he had not vacated as the bungalow he was to shift to was under renovation. Vipassana is one of India's most ancient meditation techniques.
Asked if he had left any suicide note, Gamlin said he had left behind something on his life which is in the custody of the magistrate. Pul has reportedly left behind a bunch of notes, running into 80 pages, titled My Life.
Sources in the chief minister's office said Pul is survived by three wives and seven children, the youngest born a few months ago. "His family came to know about the incident around 9am," Gamlin said.
Protesters told reporters that Pul wanted to work for the state's welfare and that the CBI needed to probe his shocking demise. They held the unstable political climate in the state responsible for his death.
Born on July 20, 1969 to Tailum Pul and Koranlu Pul in a remote village Hawai in Anjaw district, Pul did his graduation in humanities from Indira Gandhi Government College at Tezu in Lohit district. He came from an economically weak family. The five-time MLA from Hayuliang Assembly constituency in Anjaw district, around 700km from Itanagar, had had held several important portfolios as minister.
Condolences
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, junior home minister Kiren Rijiju, acting Arunachal governor Tathagata Roy, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Nagaland chief minister T.R. Zeliang, North East Democratic Alliance convener Himanta Biswa Sarma, governor Rajkhowa, who is on leave, and Tuki were among those who condoled the demise of Pul and described him as "very hardworking" and a "visionary".
In his condolence message to late Pul's wives, a "shocked" Pema Khandu wrote: "It pains my heart to write to you at this moment of extreme grief. Shri Pul was a seasoned and veteran leader who served the state in various capacities. Besides proving his calibre as the longest serving finance minister, his hard work and dedication made him one of the tallest leaders of the state.”
