Govt employee’s suicide stirs political row in Karnataka

The death of a 50-year-old Karnataka government employee, who allegedly died by suicide on Sunday and left a note purportedly blaming senior officials of coercing him to facilitate misappropriation of funds, has sparked a political controversy

The death of a 50-year-old Karnataka government employee, who allegedly died by suicide on Sunday and left a note purportedly blaming senior officials of coercing him to facilitate misappropriation of funds, has sparked a political controversy, with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding the resignation of state’s Scheduled Tribes (ST) welfare minister B Nagendra.

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The deceased, who worked as a superintendent at the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) in Bengaluru, returned to his hometown in Shivamogga district on Friday for the weekend and he died by suicide on Sunday when no one was home, police said. The incident came to light the same evening when his wife returned home after attending a family function in Bhadravati.

During the investigation, police recovered a six-page note, in which the 50-year-old has held three of his senior colleagues responsible for his death as well as the alleged misappropriation of around ₹87 crore.

In the purported suicide note, the official named KMVSTDC managing director JG Padmanabh, accounts officer Parashuram Durugannavar, and Union Bank of India chief manager Shuchismatha Rawal and accused them of coercing him into opening a parallel bank account to siphon off unaccounted funds from the corporation’s primary account.

“He claimed these officials were responsible for his demise and accused them of pressuring him to facilitate the misappropriation of funds totalling ₹87.3 crore,” a senior police officer said. “Initially, we registered a case of unnatural death 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 accused government employees are currently absconding, the officer added.

The death triggered a political row in the state, with Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra accusing the Congress-led government of exploiting Dalits and tribal communities under the guise of welfare work. “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,” Vijayendra wrote in a post on X in Kannada.

His party colleague and leader of the Opposition in state assembly, R Ashok, alleged that the entire state cabinet was involved in the alleged corruption. “…since one minister can’t scam ₹180 crore, I feel the whole cabinet is involved in this. The cabinet ministers and the chief minister have planned to execute this scam. The government is responsible for the death of the officer,” he alleged.

Reacting to the allegations, minister B Nagendra announced that the case would be probed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), adding that a first information report (FIR) has already been registered against the implicated officials.

“Whoever is involved in it and however influential they are, we will not spare them. Chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK 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,” he told reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Nagendra admitted that the scam was perpetrated while transferring money from one bank to another. “Close to ₹87 crore was transferred. So far, ₹28 crore has been recovered. We have spoken to the chairman and directors of the Union Bank of India, and everyone has said they will refund ₹50 crore by Tuesday evening,” the minister added.