CHENNAI, Mar 20(TOI): His passion for wealth was all-consuming. It consumed him.

A bunch of printouts pasted on mirrors stopped policemen who entered A M Sadiq Batcha's bedroom and bathroom to probe his death on Wednesday in their tracks. These were mission statements that bore testimony to the ambition that drove the man.

One of them read: "I will become the richest man on earth.'' Another proclaimed: "My son will become a businessman like Mukesh Ambani."

Investigators said Batcha, former telecom minister A Raja's aide and a key suspect in the 2G spectrum case who was found hanging in his bedroom last Wednesday, had stuck these notes on mirrors as daily reminders of his goals. Friends said he killed himself when the scam came between him and his dreams.

Batcha had taken printouts of these 'motivating messages' on white A4 sheets. He had stuck some letters to the mirrors as well. Printed on yellow paper, these were in Tamil. "He had pasted the sheets on all the five mirrors in his bedroom and bathroom. He would wake up every morning, look at himself in the mirror and read the messages. He was a proud and happy man," a person close to Batcha said.

Then, the 2G spectrum scandal hit headlines. "He put on a brave face in the beginning, but the repeated CBI questioning and the media glare did him in," another friend said. "Many say he led a lavish life, but they don't know how hard he worked to build his real estate business in Perambalur and Chennai, no doubt his clout with politicians helped."

Chennai police commissioner T Rajendran said investigators had collected Batcha's mobile phone call details. "We are progressing in the right direction, and I don't want to give any more information at this point," he said.