NEW DELHI, Oct 5: The city police is obtaining statements of senior officials in the Ministry of Mines in connection with the alleged suicide of a Joint Secretary in the Ministry, Mohan Chand Mahapatra, here on September 27, police said.

``We are talking to officials of the rank of Deputy Secretary and above in the Ministry to examine whether any work pressure had led the deceased to take the extreme step,'' the Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi), T N Mohan, said here today.

However, Mohan denied media reports that the Mines Secretary, B B Tandon, was `questioned' by the police on Friday saying, ``Questioning is a wrong word. We only took a statement from him as the deceased was posted with the Ministry of Mines,'' Mohan said. Tandon, in his statement, is reported to have denied any pressure on Mahapatra regarding any file he was handling.

Mahapatra's relatives had alleged ``foul play'' and said that he was under severe pressure from various quarters regarding a file which he was handling on issuance of licences for chromide ore mining. An IAS officer of 1969 batch belonging to Andhra Pradesh cadre, 51-year-old Mahapatra jumped from the third floor on Saturday last week.

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