Parth Srivastava, a 27-year-old who managed the social media for the Uttar Pradesh government’s information department, died by suicide on Wednesday, 19 May.
His family has alleged mental harassment based on a suicide note that pinned the blame on two of his senior officials at work.
“My suicide is actually a murder. Only Shailja is responsible for playing politics and Pushpendra Singh for supporting her,” read the note. An FIR is yet to be filed and the police have denied finding a suicide note.
Parth’s family alleged that he had uploaded the suicide note on Twitter, but the post was later removed by the police.
Signed by ‘Your Worthless Employee’
In the two-page hand-written note, widely shared on social media, Parth had purportedly written: “Pushpendra bhaiya didn’t care for anybody other than Shailjaji. Pushpendra bhaiya used to get angry with others over minor issues... used to find weaknesses in others.”
“Shailjaji is retaining her job by indulging in sycophancy. She used to highlight my minor mistakes in front of others to prove that I was worthless. Congratulations, Shailjaji,” the note read.
He has signed off, “your worthless employee, Parth Srivastava”.
“Due to work from home, sometimes he ate breakfast in the evening, not in the morning. He left behind a suicide note in which he mentioned about the harassment by seniors. Police took away suicide note and his phone. We want justice, we are requesting Yogiji to give us justice,” his family said to The Print.
No FIR Filed Yet
Ajay Prakash Tripathi, the inspector of the Indira Nagar area where Parth lived, said on Friday, 21 May: “Ravindranath, the father of the deceased, has informed the police about the incident and submitted a complaint. The police are conducting a probe before action is initiated,” reported The Telegraph.
“We have been informed that an FIR has not been registered yet. Right now, we are not in the right mental state to go and fight for justice in front of the police,” Parth’s mother, Rama Srivastava told The Print.
The private firm BECIL that handles the chief minister’s social media cell claimed Parth was not an employee and might have been working on a contractual basis.
#JusticeforParthSrivastava
The matter came to light when Parth’s friends began a social media campaign titled “#JusticeforParthSrivastava”.
Started by one of Parth’s friends, the campaign caught several people’s attention with many demanding the alleged suicide note. Friends and family urged the police to take action immediately.
Former IAS officer Surya Pratap Singh questioned why the Lucknow Police were not filing a case. “All the required evidence for abetment of suicide and police mishandling is with the police. Names have been mentioned in the suicide note, what are they waiting for?” He tweeted.
(With inputs from The Telegraph, The Print)
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