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There are discrepancies in suicide note of contractor: Priyank Kharge
The BJP has accused Priyank Kharge, the son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, of being involved in the case through his alleged close aide, Raju Kapanur
Karnataka information technology and biotechnology minister Priyank Kharge has called for patience as the state awaits the forensic report on an eight-page note of contractor who allegedly died by suicide in Bidar. Kharge pointed to discrepancies in the note and dismissed allegations linking him to the case.
“It is an eight-page note, where the seventh page is signed. This is the eighth page mentioning the conspiracy theory to murder former MLA or MLA. I think this is delusional. These kinds of things do not happen in Karnataka. This is not UP, Bihar, or a BJP-ruled state. Let the FSL report come out,” Priyank Kharge told reporters.
The BJP has accused Priyank Kharge, the son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, of being involved in the case through his alleged close aide, Raju Kapanur. The suicide note accuses Kapanur of demanding ₹1 crore from the contractor and threatening his life, a charge Kapanur has denied.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra has demanded that chief minister Siddaramaiah transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by January 4. Failing this, the BJP has threatened to stage a massive protest, including laying siege to Kharge’s residence in Kalaburagi.
“Priyank hailed from the influential family of Kharges. So, an investigation by the state police could not be expected to be fair. I feel only a CBI investigation can do justice to this case. We will wait till January 3. If the chief minister fails to hand over this case to the CBI by then, we will have no option but to launch a protest and lay siege to Priyank Kharge’s residence in Kalaburagi,” Vijayendra said.
The suicide note also claimed that Kapanur hired contract killers to eliminate BJP MLA Basavaraj Mattimadu, two other BJP leaders, and a Lingayat pontiff. The contractor further alleged that Congress leaders cheated him by taking a ₹15-lakh bribe but not awarding him a promised contract. When he could not pay the demanded amount of ₹1 crore, he claimed they threatened his life.
Responding to the BJP’s allegations, Priyank Kharge dismissed them as baseless and politically motivated. “Let them put out posters and prove their charge,” he said, referring to the BJP’s campaign against him in Kalaburagi.
Priyank Kharge compared the BJP’s actions to the Congress’s “PayCM” campaign during the BJP’s rule, asserting that the earlier campaign was based on evidence of corruption, unlike the current accusations.
Defending Priyank Kharge, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara called the allegations unfounded. “Priyank Kharge himself has clarified that he has no role in it and has nothing to do with it. He said that his name was not there in the suicide note. Despite this, the BJP is trying to fix him. There should be some basis. If there is any proof that Priyank Kharge is directly involved, then fine, but without any evidence, unnecessarily accusing a person is not right,” he said.
Parameshwara added that the BJP’s accusations stemmed from Priyank Kharge’s frequent criticisms of their policies in the assembly and elsewhere. “Unnecessary allegations are being made against him. If there is any supportive evidence, then we will accept it,” he said.
The home minister also assured that the CID investigation will bring the truth to light. “Unnecessarily making allegations is not fine. Let there be a CID probe; truth will come out from it... whether the financial transaction was there... other things will be known from the inquiry,” he said.
An FIR has been filed against Kapanur and five others in Kalaburagi, based on the contractor’s suicide note. The case has now been handed over to the CID for investigation.
