Batcha’s death: focus back on 10-year old case

By D Suresh Kumar

Published in The New Indian Express, on March 18, 2011:

Link:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/batcha%E2%80%99s-death-focus-back-on-10-year-old-case/257496.html

COIMBATORE: The suspected suicide of realtor A M Sadhick Batcha, the man who according to the CBI knew too much about jailed former Telecom Minister A Raja’s 2G scam money trail, has revived memories of a similar tragic incident that had rocked Tamil Nadu nearly a decade ago.

In mid-July 2001, Ramesh alias ‘Anna Nagar’ Ramesh, a civil contractor better known in political circles as the “lucky mascot” of DMK heir-apparent M K Stalin, was found dead along with his wife and three children, including an 11-month-old baby, at his bungalow in Chennai.

Remnants of a soft drink bottle and an insecticide container found inside the house in Anna Nagar suggested that it was a ‘family suicide’. What is intriguing is the striking similarities in the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Batcha and Ramesh, except that in the latter case an entire family had perished.

Just as Batcha was being pursued by the CBI on account of his close links with Raja, the Chennai police was allegedly after Ramesh in an extortion complaint filed by contractor Deivasigamani in which Stalin, then the Chennai Mayor, was cited as a beneficiary. Ramesh was the one who drove Stalin’s campaign jeep during the elections that year.

Like Batcha who was introduced to Raja by Varahur Arunachalam, an AIADMK leader; Ramesh too was close to AIADMK veteran S D Somasundaram before winning the confidence of Stalin.

Strangely, in Ramesh’s case a suicide note was found containing undertones similar to the one conveyed in the letter purportedly left behind by Batcha.

While Batcha’s note defends Raja, in the suicide note ‘written’ by Ramesh, he appealed to then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa “to intervene and tell the police not to foist false cases on ordinary people like me. My wife and I took this decision ten days ago and we are implementing it now. We think it is better to end our lives than face these cases and be labeled in the press as one who received commissions.”

Another stark similarity is that for some strange reason both the suicide notes were ‘recovered’ several hours after their deaths were reported.