Police have finally exposed the conspiracy behind the shocking death of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shailendra Jaiswal in the Lormi police station area of Chhattisgarh’s Mungeli district. On 29th February, a 32-year-old woman Sonia Lakra was taken into custody by the police in this case. She reportedly used to blackmail the deceased as well as pressurise him to convert.
The 44-year-old Shailendra Jaiswal was found hanging from an electric pole on 15th July last year. He was the representative of former Lok Sabha MP from Bilaspur Arun Sao and an alderman of the Nagar Panchayat (town council). He also ran a kiosk close to Ramhepur along with being active in politics. On 14th July, Shailendra Jaiswal’s family members started searching for him when he did not return home. His phone was turned off when someone tried to call him. Afterwards, his body was discovered hanging from a pole in the middle of a field the following day on 15th July around half a kilometre from his kiosk centre.
The police then began looking into the matter. Six separate suicide notes were uncovered by them in Shailendra Jaiswal’s kiosk centre. He had mentioned the name of Sonia Lakra in them. She was allegedly forcing him to convert along with intimidating him with blackmail. Shailendra Jaiswal also mentioned that he provided her with 20,000 rupees in the suicide letter. The police forwarded the same to a handwriting expert to confirm its authenticity. The note was examined for seven months and the researchers concluded that it was accurate.
The police then filed a case against the accused female for aiding and abetting his suicide based on the suicide note. She was arrested by authorities from her residence close to the former Lormi bus terminal after they booked her under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). She works for a private company and lives in Vangram Jamunahi.
According to Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Madhuri Dhirhi of Lormi, Sonia Lakra has been apprehended following a review of the suicide note. Extortion and conversion cases are addressed under section 306. She was placed in judicial custody after the arrest.
