CHANDIGARH: Two-time Member of Parliament of Bhartiya Janta Party from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh Ram Swaroop Sharma was found dead in his Delhi residence under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday.
Sources said that 62-year-old Sharma was found hanging at his flat in Gomti apartments near RML Hospital in the national capital. The door of his flat was closed from inside. The police reached his apartment after receiving a phone call from one of his staff members.
The reason behind the alleged suicide is yet to be ascertained.
The MP, who was reportedly getting treated for depression for the last six months, also received the first dose of COVID-19 three days back. He had also suffered a heart attack some time back.
Known for his soft-spoken demeanor, Sharma was all alone at his official residence as his personal secretary was in Mandi and his wife on the Char Dham pilgrimage.
The MP has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for long and was known for his proximity to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
Sharma was the MP from Mandi which is one of the country's largest parliamentary constituencies comprising Kullu, Mandi and some areas of Chamba and Shimla
districts, besides the tribal-dominated assembly seats of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti.
He was first elected to Parliament in 2014 as he had defeated the then sitting Congress MP Pratibha Singh wife of six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh with a huge margin. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sharma defeated Congress candidate Ashray Sharma, grandson of former Telecommunications Minister Sukh Ram.
He was also a Member of the Standing Committee on External Affairs.
Born at Jalpehar village in Mandi district in 1958, the Parliamentarian is survived by his wife and three sons.