A little over a fortnight after he was ousted as Arunachal Chief Minister following a Supreme Court ruling, Kalikho Pul was on Tuesday found dead at the official residence of the CM which he was yet to vacate. Although suicide following depression was said to be the most probable cause of Pul’s death, a host of his angry supporters who took to the streets and shouted slogans against incumbent Chief Minister Pema Khandu in Itanagar alleged that he was pushed to end his life. They vandalised the premises of Deputy CM Chowna Mein, and although Khandu has ordered an enquiry, the demonstrators demanded a CBI probe into his death. The 47-year-old was found hanging from a ceiling fan. Mein maintained that Pul had committed suicide. “We have also recovered a suicide note from the room,” a police officer said .

Pul took over as CM on February 19 with BJP support after having rebelled against the Congress Chief Minister Nabam Tuki. He floated People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) and served for four-and-a-half months. But in July, the Supreme Court reinstated Tuki who was replaced by Pema Khandu by the Congress in order to buy peace and the support of Pul.

Pul, who hads been winning won from Hyuliang constituency in eastern Arunachal Pradesh for the last five terms, was truly a people’s politician with humble beginnings. Before he rose to serve in the State government in different capacities in the Finance, Tribal Affairs and Power departments, Pul worked as a carpenter, a contractor and even a peon.

The young leader’s demise came as a shock in political circles with the President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and a host of others expressing their condolences. He is survived by his three wives and four children.

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