Karnataka officer commits suicide; sparks political uproar

PTI, May 28, 2024, 4:46 PM IST

A 48-year-old accounts superintendent of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) is suspected to have died by suicide at his residence in his hometown here, police said on Tuesday.

Chandrasekaran P, who is posted in Bengaluru, purportedly left a six-page note before hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence on Sunday evening, they said.

In the purported suicide note, he has held three of his senior colleagues responsible for his death as well as the alleged misappropriation of around Rs 87 crore, police said.

”He has mentioned about misappropriation of around Rs 87 crore through various depositions and the reasons behind his extreme step. He alleged that he was ‘harassed’ by his three colleagues who allegedly used him for ‘misappropriation of funds for personal gains’. ”Later, when he came to know that if an inquiry is initiated and an FIR is registered against him, he would be jailed and that also prompted him to take this drastic step,” a senior police officer said. The deceased accused his senior officers of forcing him to open a parallel bank account to divert unaccounted money from the corporation’s primary account, he said in the note.

He also alleged that he was directed by a minister and an officer to open a “sweep-in and sweep-out account” that allowed customers to transfer funds between savings and current accounts and link fixed deposit accounts at a bank branch on M G Road in Bengaluru, the police officer said. According to the police, he returned from Bengaluru to his hometown on Friday for the weekend and he died by suicide on Sunday when no one was home. The incident came to light the same evening when his wife Kavitha and son returned home from Bhadravati where they had gone to attend a family function.

”Initially, we registered a case of unnatural death at Vinoba Nagar police in Shivamogga but later, when we recovered the death note, we registered a case under 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code against the three government officials,” the officer said. The accused government employees are currently absconding, he added. According to Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister B Nagendra, the case has been handed over to the CID and an FIR has been registered against KMVSTDC Managing Director J G Padmanabha, Durganna and Suchismita.

“Whoever is involved in it and however influential they are, we will not spare them. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar have taken it seriously. If the forensic report says that the MD had signed on it, then we will suspend him. We will not let the leakage of public money happen,” the minister said at a press conference.

Nagendra said the scam was perpetrated while transferring money from one bank to another.

“Close to Rs 87 crore was transferred. So far Rs 28 crore has been recovered. We have spoken to the chairman and directors of the Union Bank of India, and everyone has said that they will refund Rs 50 crore by Tuesday evening,” the minister said.

Mahazar (spot inspection) has been done, police said adding that the purported suicide note and the mobile phone of the deceased accounts officer has been seized for further investigation. Home Minister G Parameshwara has said that Crime Investigation Department will investigate to see what has transpired. His death triggered a political row in the state with Leader of Opposition R Ashoka demanding the sacking of Minister Nagendra. Karnataka BJP chief B Y Vijayendra alleged that Congress leaders were indulging in corruption under the disguise of working for Dalits and tribal communities.

”The Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department Minister B Nagendra should be dismissed from the cabinet immediately and I demand a transparent investigation into the officer’s death,” he posted on social media platform X in Kannada.