Was Guru wrong in committing suicide?


Thirty eight-year-old Gurucharan Singh Makhija alias Raju might have never thought that he would die labelled as a “Mad”. The man, who was respectfully and brotherly addressed as “Guru” (a teacher or guide) by hundreds of people regardless of age, being mentioned as a mental in Police records was nothing less than an expletive uttered by his own disloyal wife.

Raju, a selfless man to the core, was always ready to help out anyone in crisis. Little did he knew, one day his immediate family would make him commit suicide. And, the so called strangers (friends and neighbours) would cry for him in utter disbelief.

He was found dead with a copper wire wrapped around his neck at least 20 or 30 rounds that was attached to a plug by a switch. A servant at the rented portion of his electricity shop was stated to have switched it off after finding him lying on the floor in the morning.


The betrayal and the family scene during Rajus’ last days........


Raju, before being found dead with current in copper wires, had been reduced to live an all embarrassed life full of regrets on behalf his own family. Unfortunately, during his last days, he could not find anyone to understand the harrowing experiences and daily humiliations he had been subjected to at the hands of the people, he lovingly nurtured as “Family”.

He was that gentleman who would forgive his enemy even if he might have been having extra marital affair with his wife. He could barely protest at the most, as he did a few days ago with his neighbour-cum-closest ‘friend’ for ruining his family life. But everyone knew he had a heart to forgive just anyone. And, that’s what perhaps he was finding too self-depreciating and difficult to do this time with the man involved with his own wife.

Not many men of Raju’s guts, goodwill and blind trust would be able to spend even a minute with an unfaithful and materialist wife like he had. It wasn’t any film but a reality that an uneducated person like Raju was struggling to cope up with everyday.

Raju was finding it too hard to forget that his wife was actually involved with his most confidant and closest friend, a factory owner, in the neighbourhood. The pain had become a consistent agony.

Weeks before committing suicide, Raju was heard outside his shop shouting loud enough for everyone to hear grievances of his personal life. He shouted that his disloyal wife was maintaining physical relation with his friend despite his pleadings not to do so. Raju was also annoyed with his eldest daughter for taking up a wrong track in life. She was allegedly getting over indulged with many boy friends for a long time by that time. She was the highest educated person in family after her mother.

Raju always asked his close friends to suggest any good course for her daughter. He perhaps never thought his own daughter would befool him one day and team up with his equally cunning mother. But he was probably trying to do it losing peace of mind moment by moment.

His unfaithful wife and the brain-washed kids were not in talking terms with him for a year. For, he used to protest out of care and concern like any normal guardian of the family does on finding everything going haywire. He wanted his wife to again become faithful to him. He was trusting and forgiving and that’s why never prevented her from visiting Gurudwara or any relative’s place in Delhi. But she took advantage of his innocence and enjoyed the liberty to the limit.

For every street smart decision, she used to consult her boyfriend escaping husband’s eyes. Once she was caught red-handed going with her boy friend to some place. Raju had chased her. Once exposed, she had apologized slapping herself on her face at least 100 times and regretting her step of crisscrossing her marital confines.


Almost a week or two before his Raju’s death, his eldest daughter went missing. She is alleged to have eloped with someone with someone from the slum sector. She returned having spent about three days and four nights. She was a favourite to her mother. Thus, she was forgiven for her unpardonable mistake for parents of her conservative family.

Raju called up meeting of his close associates in his neighbourhood and asked them publicly what they were up to. He felt forced to ask such questions, perhaps, any father would prefer to die before finding himself compelled to ask his wife and daughter publicly. He wanted to know before everyone the reason that why he was being branded as someone having lost his sense when it was they (wife and children) who needed to explain their objectionable conduct.

The meeting was dismissed with no fruitful results. He was boycotted hence forth and denied food most of the time. His cellular phone was taken away from him. He was denied even a single penny from home. He was being showcased as a man with an insane mind. Though, it was only that he used to forget having met some people the previous day.

It was later learnt that he was being kept on a ‘special medicine’ brought from his wife’s close relative’s house in Tilak Nagar. All such restrictions and boycott from his own family had started killing him from inside. He was made to live a secluded life inside a room that he was allocated in his home as his cell. No body in the family would talk to him.

Raju, the man, who always offered a helping hand to others in crisis, had started borrowing. He often borrowed as little as rupees 10 or 20 from anyone he could possible do. He wanted to remain drunk and do not revisit the scary thoughts that kept him killing every moment.

At times he begged neighbours for Roti and Sabzi. For, he was given food depending at is wife’s mercy or mood. He often complained to his close neighbours that she used to deny her food. And whenever it was given, a Thali was placed at his door step as placed before any dog.

His cellular phone had already been taken away by the second daughter saying it came of her mother’s money. Soon, Raju was reduced to collecting waste cables or any useful material from the bins or roadsides.

Whenever needed he would collect enough things to arrange to sell them to the local Kabariwalas in exchange of little money needed to buy himself Roti and Dal at day or night. He was not given even a paisa for pocket allowance by family or kids. If any friend or known person raised his hand to help him, the wife would approach him to prevent any sort of help that could spoil her ‘mentally imbalanced’ husband.

Raju was beaten with Chappals by his wife and kids about three months ago. It was told to the intervening neighbours and sympathizers that Raju was actually trying to ‘run away’ with property papers. Embarrassed with the way a man of his respect and dignity in the area was treated that night shattered Raju. The pitiable sight brought tears in many youngsters’ eyes who were present there at mid-night.

It was true he wanted to sell off his house worth lakhs of rupees and shift to some new place to avoid loss of face because of her wife’s illicit relations and children. The wife never discontinued running a ‘committee’ (a sort of lottery system), from Malka Ganj main gurudwara.

She maintained all record of Raju’s income, belongings and property including a huge stock of jewelry that she got in inheritance after Raju’s mother’s death about 20 years ago. Till last ‘rumours’ or inside news arrived, the wife had contacted a property dealer at the nearby Lehna Singh market to sell off the house at the earliest. The property is worth rupees 70 lakh. And, her boyfriend was already set to leave the colony by selling off his factory two houses next to his now over popular girl-friend.

His death and friends His cremation was visited by around five hundred men known to him. Barely four relatives from Bareilly arrived before he was put to flames at Nigam Both Ghat!

No neighbour was invited to attend Raju’s Uthala ceremony (last rites) yet about three hundred gents and ladies congregated. Everyone left complaining such a tragic end of someone’s life because of a greedy wife.

Recently, a group of his friends pooled rupees 25,000 among themselves to feed the poor in his memory. Over 7,000 people were distributed free dinner on Janmashtami festival, a practice once started by Raju as a gesture of annual social service for the same religious day.


Role of Delhi Police


Delhi Police is yet to act nearly six months after his death. Police have been approached and narrated this entire story through an email. They want daring witnesses to pursue this criminal case. Interestingly, the wife has apologized and requested not to further push the case for God's sake to save her prosecution and public embarrassment. And nobody, neither this journalist is interesting to pursue with this culpable homicide case.



The reality of Raju's suicide and his life......


Despite Raju's wife and children stating narrating as if he would attempt it in the morning, the first policeman arriving at the spot said he died at least 8 to 10 hours earlier. For, the dead body was rock hard by that time.


But the family continued describing as if they learnt about Raju's dead body a few minutes ago. A huge gathered within a few minutes as the news of Raju's death travelled from ears to ears in the locality. The first comers to the death spot, inside their shop, were told by his wife that he went missing since last night and could not be traced anywhere. Raju was wearing a long nicker and a baniyan, the dress he often used to wear at night. He used to drink about three to four pegs at night for many years. It was a routine he never liked to give a miss.

Once drunk, he would never come down from his house even for any emergency to avoid becoming a pubic embarrassment. He always maintained the civility to avoid talking to anyone while drunk. He would always say having drinks after finishing off with his work at the electric shop gave him the biggest joy of the day. He avoided drinking in public.

Everyone loved Raju for his personality, a rare combination of humanity and practical wisdom these days. He was a person beyond belief, as he was known for going out of the way to help.

Organising langars on Janmashtmi or Sharbat-lassi on Ekadashi or donating in Gurudwaras, showing respect to every religion and having friendship with one and all, was Raju’s way of life. He was a friend of friends but enemy to none. The remarkable man was equally loved by the old and the young.

He cherished being with by his young friends and often being a good listener to the old.

It happened perhaps in the early hours of June 28, 2007……


Who was Raju in actual life.....


Full of life, cheer and brotherliness Raju was always ready for anyone in crisis. Be it death, fatal accident, catching a thief single-handedly, taking on the miscreants from the nearby slum-sector, Raju was always there to lend a helping hand to anyone and everyone.

Be it children or their parents everyone loved to talk to Raju, as he was so full of life and kind towards all. Be it Gurudwaras or Temples, Raju was the first man to say “yes” to any proposal by friends or neighbours. The most educated to the illiterate would often visit him for his personal advice.

The young to the old all usually consulted him on various matters, especially related to “Duniyadari” (the social conduct). And, Raju was always ready with his variety of counsels to help out everyone.

His early life...


Raju was brought to Malka Ganj colony from some orphanage by a childless couple from Pishore. His new father, Tarachand Makhija, was a general merchant who had set up his shop at the ground floor of his shop-cum-residence in the north Delhi’s Malka Ganj area, a refugee colony for people estranged from their land after Partition of Hindustan.

His father was known to have brought a lot of jewellery that always remained a talk of the colony for decades. After father Tarachand’s death, Raju inherited a one-and-a-half storey house along with a running shop. He married at the age of about 17 to an underage Sikh girl from Punjab. Raju had three daughters and went on for a fourth child trying his luck for a son.

He prayed at almost every Gurudwara and temple for a son. He was blessed with a son finally. Following well-wishers’ counsels, he agreed not to get greedy anymore. During his student life, he disliked boring textbooks.

He used to boast how he ran away from his school throwing a desk on a rude teacher while studying barely in sixth standard. He had difficulty in writing. He could manage his ‘stylish’ signatures that he learnt by practicing hundreds of times. He used to drive three-wheeler and later opened an electricity shop at his residence with the help of devoted helpers. They loved him for his care and affection.

A few years later his wife…….surreptitiously started taking care of his daily affairs and also the management of his shop. He was asked to not to get into cash or banking things as he was basically an illiterate. He agreed. Raju was known for his bold personality and respected by one and all. He also used to play “Chango” in Jagrans to earn some extra bucks for his family of five beside driving a three-wheeler in the daytime.

He would also drive three-wheeler during night for his family and the darling wife and kids. He often used to say, he was lucky to have such a wife who is more street-smart than him. He would praise about her among friends and neighbours that she provided her tips about earning a better fortune. Raju accepted her clever-mindset to run daily affairs and soon gave the full charge of his life.

He started calling his wife “Madam”, the chief of the house. The man, who also took the lead in his public and social life, was for the first time looked a timid husband who would hesitate even talking to friends. It was a bit of surprise for everyone who knew him since childhood, as he was never hoped to obey his wife just like any kid. Rajus’ only dream was to see his eldest daughter become ‘accomplished’ in life and his son, the best among the rest.

He taught his son swimming at the age of around four or five with amazing results. He had an athletic physique and could run over three kilometers back and forth despite having crossed his 37th birthday.