Forty-five year old Patil, who made his debut as a labour leader when he was just 28, locked himself in his bedroom in his Chheda Crescent residence at Sector-17, and shot himself in the head with his licenced revolver while his family was outcelebrating his daughter's 18th birthday last night. The bullet exited from his skull and left a dent in the metal cupboard, which was in the line of fire, Vashi police said.

When his wife Sadhana and children, Rati and son Shawak, returned from the celebration at around 1 am, they found Patil's bedroom door locked and assumed he was asleep. The next morning, when Patil failed to wake up till 7.30 am, the family broke open the door and found his body, according to Investigating Officer B Thombre. Though police refused to speculate on the cause of death, sources close to the family claim that tension had peaked over the last month between Patil and his first wife Sharada, who resides with their two sons in the same neighbourhood.

Minutes after news of Patil's death reached the APMC at Vashi -- the largest marketyard in the country -- the 25,000 mathadis there ceased work at around 9 am. The workers were particularly shocked as Patil had organised a victory procession for NCP legislator Shashikant Shinde,who was recently elected from Jawli constituency in Raigad district, this afternoon. Shinde is also one of the union's six joint general secretaries.

Patil's death mirrors that of his father, Anna Patil, who was also general secretary of the mathadi union when he took his own life in March 1982. Shivaji Patil was elected general secretary of the union in 1989. The Maharashtra Rajya Mathadi Kamgar Union wields considerable clout in the commodity markets in Mumbai, Vashi, Karad, Nashik, Pune, Satara, Raigad and Kolhapur, which collectively transact business amounting to over Rs 100 crore a day.

A pandal was erected at the auction hall in the Onion-Potato marketyard at Vashi, where senior state politicians came to pay their respects. About 20,000 mathadi workers were also present. When Patil's body arrived in an ambulance at 2 pm, the stoic silence gave way to near hysteria as the surging crowd tried to break the security cordon for a glimpse of the body. Patil's mother Vatsala was inconsolable, having firstlived through her husband's suicide and now that of her son. Patil's widow as well as his former wife were also inconsolable.

A tense moment gripped the gathering as they instinctively clapped and cheered when NCP strongman Sharad Pawar's cavalcade drew up. It took a stern reminder that they had gathered to mourn a death before the sombre mood returned. ``Hi taalya vaajvaichi vel nahi, shokachi vel aahe (This is not a time to rejoice, but to mourn),'' said M Jagdale, secretary of the Navi Mumbai unit of the Mathadi Kamgar Union. Other Maratha leaders present were Chhagan Bhujbal, Padamsinh Patil, Prabhakar Kunte, Madhukar Pichad and Ganesh Naik.

As the funeral procession wended its way from the APMC market to the Hindu Smashanbhumi at Jui Nagar, where the body was cremated, crowds surged on to the township's streets shouting slogans. Patil's body was cremated at 7 pm.