Renowned social worker and executive director of Maharogi Sewa Samiti (Leprosy Services Committee) Sheetal Amte-Karajgi was found dead at ‘Anandwan’ in Warora in Chandrapur district on Monday.
They found her unconscious and rushed her to the Warora government hospital, where she was pronounced dead upon arrival. It is suspected that he committed suicide by injecting poison. She is survived by her husband and a son.
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Sheetal was the granddaughter of the internationally known human rights activist and Padma Vibhushan winner, the late Baba Amte, who founded Maharogi Sewa Samiti in 1949. The institutions have pioneered the medical treatment and rehabilitation of leprosy patients.
Recent media reports had said the Amte family was in the middle of a dispute over the way MSS was being run and over the appointment of new administrators.
Earlier this week, Ms Sheetal had posted a Facebook live video in which she reportedly raised accusations against some members of her family. The video was removed in a few hours from his profile. Subsequently, the Amte family issued a statement that he suffered from mental stress and depression.
The family has yet to release a statement regarding Sheetal’s death.
Anandwan is managed by the MSS, in which Sheetal’s father, Vikas Amte, is one of the trustees. Sheetal became the executive director of the trust, a position created especially for her, three years ago.
Sheetal, a physician was a disability specialist and was known as an environmentalist, painter, and photographer. One of his projects after becoming CEO was to turn ‘Anandwan’ into a kind of ‘Smart Village’ by making it technologically efficient, economically productive and environmentally sensitive. He received a grant from the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery to establish a ‘Center of Excellence for Medical Leadership, Ethics and Motivation’ in Anandwan. He went on to establish ‘Mashaal’ and ‘Chirag’, two unique leadership training programs to motivate medical professionals across India.
Their dense native tree planting model, adopted for Indian conditions of the ‘Miyawaki afforestation method’, was adopted by the Maharashtra government and renamed ‘Anandwan Dense Forest Model’. His other shows, Yuvagram and Nijbal, focused on youth.
Recent media reports had suggested that Sheetal was unhappy with the reintegration of Kaustubh, his brother, into the MSS trust. Kaustubh had resigned from the trust following allegations of wrongdoing. After he was re-admitted in October, Sheetal made his displeasure public in a video posted on Facebook. It was immediately removed.
Those who need help to overcome suicidal thoughts can contact the BMC Mental Health Helpline 022-24131212 (24×7); Vandrevala Foundation: 18602662345/18002333330 (24×7); Call: 022-25521111 (from 8 am to 10 pm, Monday to Saturday); The Samaritans Mumbai: 8422984528/8422984529/8422984530 (from 3 pm to 9 pm every day).
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