‘Depression’ got better of the man who sent threats to Kalam

Kumar Arjundas Hotchandani, 28, who hit the headlines for sending as many as 38 threat mails to President APJ Abdul Kalam and committed suicide in Varanasi on Monday

Kumar Arjundas Hotchandani, 28, who hit the headlines for sending as many as 38 threat mails to President APJ Abdul Kalam and committed suicide in Varanasi on Monday, was reportedly under severe depression. Police said the papers found in his hotel room suggested Kumar was undergoing treatment at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences in New Delhi, though the latter refused to confirm it.

“The media reports about property dispute in his family are not true. He had been under depression for more than three years, for he had no job. He was a commerce graduate. His father was a homoeopath who died about three years ago,” Rajendra Hotchandani, Kumar’s maternal uncle who arrived in Varanasi to take possession of the body said.

While police said Kumar came to Varanasi from Thane, Maharashtra, apparently to “seek salvation”, Rajendra, who lives in Kutch, Gujarat, could not give any answer as to what prompted Kumar to come to this UP town to commit suicide. “I got to know about the suicide in Gujarat from the Varanasi police. He was suffering from psychic problems. He left Ulhasnagar four days ago without informing his mother and sister,” Rajendra said, adding that Kumar had psychiatric problems even before his father’s death.

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“It’s a mystery how did he go to Varanasi,” said Nirmal Hotchandani, Kumar’s cousin, from Mumbai.

Sources in the police said several articles, including a diary containing telephone numbers, were found from his room. “We recovered the .32 bore countrymade pistol with which he had shot himself. The shape of the pistol suggests it was procured from outside Varanasi,” Sigara SHO JN Mishra said.

Earlier, the threat e-mails allegedly sent by Kumar had put the security agencies on alert, who traced him to Ulhasnagar. He was arrested, but released on bail in 10 days.

(With inputs from Mumbai)