Days before polls, BJP candidate found dead

Officers said they found a dupatta wrapped around Yogi8217;s neck, with its other end hanging from the ceiling fan of the room at his Inderpuri residence in South-West Delhi where the body was first spotted.

According to the police, Yogi had woken up at 5 am and asked his wife for the key to the room upstairs where he usually kept his party and election-related materials. He worked in the room for some time and then came down for tea and breakfast.

Malti Verma, BJP councillor from Ward Number 152, said Yogi had telephoned her at 7 am. 8220;We were supposed to take out a pad yatra at Pandav Nagar. He asked me if all party workers would assemble at the venue by 9 am.8221;

After making the call, Yogi reportedly went to the room again, leaving his mobile phone downstairs. As the phone kept ringing, his wife, Asha, took it to him. The door was not bolted from inside and she walked in to find Yogi lying 8220;unconscious8221; on the floor, Asha told the police. She immediately raised an alarm and a couple of party workers, who were waiting for Yogi downstairs, rushed to her help.

8220;She immediately called up Dr G S Bhogal, their family doctor who stays two houses away. He arrived and tried to revive Yogi. When he did not gain consciousness, the family called the police at 7.30 am,8221; said a senior officer.

Inderpuri ward councillor Suraj Kumar said: 8220;Yogi was lying on a mattress spread on the floor. The doctor was performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR when I walked in.8221;

According to Delhi Police8217;s Public Relations Officer Rajan Bhagat, initial investigations suggest that it is a case of suicide. Yogi8217;s body was taken to the Safdarjung Hospital, where a postmortem was conducted. The report is awaited. His body was later handed back to the family.

At the Yogi household in EF-5-R, Inderpuri, his family insists that it is a case of heart failure. His daughter Anu said he had suffered an attack earlier.

8220;It is a bit premature for the police to say it is a case of suicide. It is still being investigated. I don8217;t want to say anything else,8221; said Rajiv Yogi, his son.

BJP workers assembled at his house as soon as the news of his death spread. They, too, said Yogi could not commit suicide. Delhi BJP chief Dr Harsh Vardhan said: 8220;There was no reason for him to commit suicide. He had no family problems and no financial constraints.8221;

On the condition of anonymity, one of his neighbours said Yogi was under a lot of mental stress because of the elections. 8220;I am a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. Yogi came to our meetings every day earlier, but he had not been attending them for the last four days. He knew he would win the polls but he was under a lot of stress because of the campaigning.8221;

His son, Rajiv Yogi, lives in Gurgaon with his wife. He works as a software engineer and was in the US earlier. Daughter Anu is settled in Noida with her husband.