A man allegedly died by suicide in Gujarat's Tapi district after being distressed over payment of college fees of his daughter, police said on Saturday.
The incident led to a tussle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party, which had fought the recent Gujarat Assembly polls by carrying out a sustained attack on the former over the poor state of the education sector in the state.
As per a statement issued during the day by Valod police, Bakul Patel (46) ended his life on December 15 by consuming pesticide in Goddha village, some 25 kilometres away from the district headquarter in Vyara.
The police statement said Patel ended his life "as he was worried about the payment of his daughter's college fees".
However, Deputy Superintendent of Police CM Jadeja told reporters Patel used to repair motors and was facing a financial crunch, though it is not established if he ended his life because he was worried about the payment of his daughter's college fees.
A probe into the incident has been initiated, the Deputy SP added.
Meanwhile, tagging a news report on Patel's death, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said it was shameful such an incident had taken place in the 21st century.
"One more suicide for failing to pay exorbitant fees for getting education. Had the BJP paid attention in improving education scenario in their states, numerous students and their parents may not have taken such extreme step. Nothing can be as shameful as this incident in the 21st century," Sisodia tweeted.
On the other hand, local BJP MLA Mohan Dhodiya, who represents Mahuva (Scheduled Tribe) seat, said he knew the deceased well and he never appeared in stress due to the reasons mentioned in the short note released by the police.
"I knew him very well and I called him several times for motor rewinding work at my home. He never told me he was in stress because of his daughter's fees or that he was facing such a crisis," Dhodiya said.
"In fact, he used to collect his dues after one year and that too after my reminders. I think police need to investigate the whole issue thoroughly," the BJP MLA asserted.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
