BJP MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh Ram Swaroop Sharma died in New Delhi on Wednesday, a spokesperson of the party said.
Following news of the death of Sharma, the BJP cancelled a meeting of its parliamentary party.
News agency ANI reported that Delhi Police suspect Sharma died by suicide. He was found hanging inside his apartment and the door was found closed from inside. The Tribune reported, "Sharma was allegedly suffering from severe depression and was under treatment for the last six months." He was, reportedly, alone at home when he died.
Anurag Thakur, the Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, arrived at the residence of Sharma after news of his death.
Born at Jalpehar village in Mandi district on June 10, 1958, Sharma was a two-time MP. He was elected to the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha from Mandi parliamentary constituency in 2014 and 2019, respectively. Sharma was a member of the Standing Committee on External Affairs and the Consultative Committee of Ministry of External Affairs.
Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of State for sports and youth affairs, expressed shock at the death of Ram Swaroop Sharma. Rijiju tweeted, "He was a perfect gentleman and I had beautiful memories with him on many occasions."
This is the second suspected suicide by a Lok Sabha MP in a month. In February, Mohan Delkar, the MP for Dadra and Nagar Haveli, allegedly ended his life in Mumbai. The Congress and other opposition parties demanded the removal of Dadra and Nagar Haveli administrator Praful Khoda Patel, after news emerged he had been named in a purported suicide note left behind by Delkar.
