Ex-employee attempts suicide at Mantralaya

MUMBAI: A former government employee allegedly tried to commit suicide by drinking a floor-cleaner at Mantralaya , headquarters of the Maharashtra government in Mumbai, on Friday to protest 'forced' retirement, police said.It is the latest in a series of similar incidents at Mantralaya this year.Dilip Sonawane, who retired as peon, allegedly tried to drink phenyl (used for floor cleaning) outside the office of additional chief secretary of the Labour Department.He was stopped by some employees before he could drink the content of the bottle he was carrying, a police official said.Police detained him and took him to a hospital for medical examination, the official added.Sonawane had been forced to opt for early retirement following a departmental inquiry against him, the official said. Thursday was his last day at work.He came to Mantralaya with his family members Friday, claiming that he was forced to quit only because he was due for a promotion.He got into an argument with the principal secretary of the labour department and then tried to drink phenyl, the police official said.In February this year, a 45-year-old man committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of Mantralaya, after which the state government set up a safety net covering the open space on the first floor of the seven-storey building.In June, a man hailing from Dhule in north Maharashtra attempted suicide at the entrance of Mantralaya while seeking probe in a scheduled caste recruitment drive.