NEW DELHI, 3 June 2006 — Rahul Mahajan, son of late Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan, was battling for his life in a Delhi hospital yesterday after being admitted for suspected food poisoning.
Mahajan’s secretary Vivek Biman Moitra, who was also taken to Apollo Hospital with Rahul, was declared dead on arrival, police said.
Rahul, 30, was to leave for Guwahati today to immerse his father’s ashes and take charge as vice president of BJP’s youth wing after his return.
Rahul is on a ventillator and his condition is serious but stable. “All his vital parameters are functioning normally,” Apollo hospital spokesperson Karan Thakur said.
“An initial examination indicated that the death of Vivek Moitra and the ill health condition of Mahajan is due to food poisoning, but the doctors are examining other details to reach a final conclusion,” the hospital spokesperson said.
“Rahul had low blood pressure, oxygen levels were low and respiratory levels were also low. He barely had any pulse,” Dr. Ritu Rawat said.
The two were taken to hospital by domestics Ganesh and Anil, who found them lying unconscious in the early hours.
Preliminary police investigation is centered on three unidentified persons who visited the two at Mahajan’s 7 Safdarjung Road residence and cocaine found at the scene. “We are trying to ascertain the identities of the three and investigations are on in that direction,” Additional Deputy Commissioner Police Manish Aggarwal said.
Blood and vomit samples of Rahul and Moitra are being examined. Police detained the domestics and a person, said to be a close friend of Moitra, for questioning. The latter was present on Thursday night at Mahajan’s house.
The police also found two champagne bottles in the bungalow that had been allotted to the late BJP general secretary who died of gunshot wounds inflicted by his brother barely a month ago.
On whether any foul play was suspected, Aggarwal said: “It is too early to comment. We are inquiring into the cause of death. All angles are being probed. It could be a case of natural or accidental toxication, but it is too early to say.” Cocaine was also found in the champagne bottles.
Gopinath Munde, Maharashtra legislator and Pramod Mahajan’s brother-in-law, refrained from linking the killing of Pramod with Rahul’s critical condition. “It is not proper to say what was the reason behind this. Now that Vivek Moitra is no more, only Rahul would be able to say what happened after he regains consciousness,” Munde said.
Several BJP leaders visited Apollo Hospital yesterday, including party President Rajnath Singh and General Secretary Vinay Katiyar. “It is a sad and unfortunate episode. The exact reasons could be ascertained only after a proper investigation,” Singh said.
Moitra was a force to reckon with in the Bharatiya Janata Party due to his proximity to Pramod Mahajan. “In fact he was Pramod Mahajan’s Man Friday. Mahajan trusted him more than anyone even in his own family and thus he acted as his son Rahul’s guardian,” said a senior BJP official.
The low profile Moitra’s association with the senior Mahajan dated back to more than a decade. “He was like a shadow of Pramod Mahajan and took care of everything related to Mahajan in a quiet manner,” said sources close to the Mahajan family.
Describing Moitra as the backroom boy who had ensured that Rahul would get a post in the BJP’s youth wing in the near future, a party insider said he had become the young Mahajan’s political mentor after his father’s untimely death.
— Additional input from Indo Asian News Service
