Raj Dayal, ex-Police Chief, Minister of Environment, is no more

Former police commissioner and former environment minister, Raj Dayal, died of natural causes on Sunday.

He joined the Mauritius police force in 1971 and became commander of the Special Mobile Force in 1986 – the paramilitary unit – which he led for 8 years. He was appointed police commissioner in 1994.

In 1997, he was suspended after the establishment of a commission of inquiry over alleged corruption. The Commission’s report in 1999 being unfavorable –Dayal nevertheless refused to resign. He was booted out a year later.

In 2014, he was elected in Constituency No 9 (Flacq/Bon Accueil) under the MSM-led Alliance Lepep and was appointed Minister of the Environment.

However, he forced to resign after the Bal Kouler affair broke on March 23, 2016, where he was accused of corruption.

Since then, he was subject of a lengthy court case before the financial division of the Supreme Court. He always maintained his innocence.