The first wife of former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister late Kalikho Pul said her son, who committed suicide in England, was depressed after his father's suicide.
Dangwimsai Pul, first of the three wives of Kalikho Pul, who committed suicide in 2017 after being unseated as chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, told THE WEEK that Subhanso (22), whose lifeless body was recovered from students’ hostel in East Sussex on February 9, had seen his father's body being brought down by police from the ceiling. He never recovered from that shock.
“Subhanso could not believe that his father would commit suicide. He was so shocked that it took months for me to make him comfortable. He was inconsolable and failed to recover,” Dangwimsai told THE WEEK from Itanagar. According to her, Subhanso and his younger brother could recover from the loss.
Subhanso was second of three sons of Kalikho Pul and Dangwimsai. Their eldest son is studying law in Delhi and the youngest one is a Class XII student in Tezpur, Assam.
Subhnaso was the most studious and meritorious among the three, and his father loved him for his intelligence.
“People would say I am using this incident to raise fresh controversy. But I am not saying that my eldest son suffered psychologically. But other two sons passed through horrific period since their dad’s death. I have to work hard to console my youngest son even today,” she said.
Among his three wives, Dangwimsai was the only one to raise her concerns over the suicide of her husband. She had pointed to a nexus between the BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh and the judiciary. She tried to employ high profile advocates of Supreme Court, demanding that the suicide note of her husband be considered as a dying statement. However, her allegations found few takers and the biggest allegation she leveled against judiciary could not be probed at all.
Interestingly, two of his three sons chose legal profession. Subhanso was studying law in East Sussex University of England.
The Indian embassy in London, on February 11, informed Dangwimsai that her son had committed suicide.
However, Dangwimsai refused to accept that it was a suicide. She said she had spoken to her son a day before he died. “The embassy people told me that he used polythene to smother himself. How could he do that? He had just spoken me and my sister a day before,” she said.
The boy used to stay in the hostel of the university but opted for a single room.
The aggrieved mother refused the possibility of Subhanso being in a relationship or the family facing financial struggles. He had no troubles with his studies as well.
“He never told me that he was in love with anyone. There was no shortage of money for his studying as he asked me to deposit money for tuition next month. But I deposited a month early. I always deposited money in his account well in advance. There was no sign in his voice on that day which could suggest that he would take the extreme step” said Dangwimsai.
Though Dangwimsai refused to buy the argument that her son committed suicide, studies have shown that Mishimi tribes in Arunachal Pradesh, who originated from Myanmar-China border, have a tendency for committing suicide.
There are three Mishimi tribes—Idu Mishimi, Taron Mishimi and Kaman Mishimi—and Kalikho Pul belonged to Kaman Mishimi.
Said a professor in Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, “Studies have shown every fourth member of Mishimi population attempted suicide. Whenever they get emotional they try to resort to the extreme step. Among male and females, males showed higher tendencies.”
Dangwimsai refused to accept this.
“Yes, I have heard of such report. But there is no science in it. It has not proved scientifically,” said she.
The eldest son of Dangwimsai has left for England to bring back the body.
