DEHRADUN: A daughter of former Chhattisgarh MLA Bhima Mandavi, who was killed in a Maoist attack in 2019, was found dead in an all-girls paying guest (PG) accommodation in Dehradun’s Karanpur area on Sunday. Deepa Mandavi, 22, was in third year of physiotherapy nursing course at a private institute in Dehradun’s Rajpur area.
Sub-inspector Om Prakash of Karanpur police checkpost, investigating the case, said Deepa was found dead around 6pm. “Prima facie, it is a case of suicide. No suicide note was found. We examined her mobile phone but found nothing suspicious that could help determine the reason behind her drastic step,” he said.
“Deepa is survived by her mother, Ojaswi Mandavi, a member of the state commission for protection of women’s rights, and her brother. They reached Dehradun on Monday morning. The body was handed over to them after post-mortem examination, and they returned home with it around 4pm. It was also revealed that her elder sister, Mona, had also died by suicide in Raipur in July 2013,” Prakash added.
Her father was killed along with his security personnel in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Deepa made headlines in Oct 2023 when she released a video protesting against the denial of an assembly election ticket to her mother in Dantewada.
Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai extended condolences to the Mandavi family, saying, “The sudden demise of Deepa… is extremely sad. I spoke to Ojaswi ji. May the departed soul find peace, and may god provide strength to the bereaved family in this hour of grief.”
