The alleged suicide of serving Mangalore Deputy Superintendent of Police MK Ganapathy on Thursday in a lodge at Madikeri in the hill district of Kodagu has left Chief Minister Siddaramaiah under severe pressure. Hours before he hanged himself, Ganapathy gave an interview to a private news channel in which he held two IPS officers and a State Minister responsible for harassing and driving him to the edge.
Amidst Statewide protest by Opposition BJP and other parties, Siddaramaiah handed over the case to CID for an investigation.
“I have ordered a CID enquiry into the death of the DSP (Ganapathy) after I was briefed on Thursday night about the unfortunate incident at Madikeri. I am saddened by it,” Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
This is the second suicide by senior police officials in Karnataka within days, amid allegations that officers are harassed by their seniors and politicians.
“The enquiry team will study the suicide note Ganapathy left behind in the room. Its content will also be investigated though I am not aware of what he wrote. The Government will take action after getting the CID report though I too learnt that he had named two senior police officers and a Minister,” said Siddaramaiah.
Ganapathy’s body was shifted to a Government hospital for autopsy to ascertain the cause of death.
“The enquiry will also investigate the TV interview after getting its footage from the news channel and analysing its content,” the Chief Minister asserted.
Ganapathy named Additional Director General of Police (intelligence) AM Prasad, lokayukta Inspector General of Police Pronab Mohanty and Bengaluru Development Minister and former Home Minster KJ George, who hails from Kodagu district, as responsible for harassing him and putting pressure on him in various criminal and corruption cases.
According to police, Ganapathy, who was posted at the IGP office in Mangaluru on the west coast, drove to Madikeri early Thursday and checked into a lodge near the outstation bus stand. When local police went to the lodge to ask Ganapathy about his controversial interview, its receptionist found him hanging in the room.
This is the second such incident this week, three days after Chikkamagaluru Rural Deputy Superintendent of Police Kalappa Handibagh, 34, hanged himself at Belagavi, bordering Maharashtra.
A 1991-batch officer of the State cadre, Ganapathy entered the police service under sports quota. He hailed from a hamlet at Siddapur near Madikeri. He leaves behind widow Pavana and two sons.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George denied his involvement in the suicide and said let the police investigate the entire matter.
The political parties especially the major Opposition BJP took to streets across the State against the suicide of Ganapathy. BJP leader Jagadish Shettar demanded the resignation of Minister KJ George and sought a CBI probe into back-to-back suicides by officers.
Ganapathy’s wife Pavana said, “We only know that he had pressure from the department. He has said whatever he had to. We don’t know anything, he used to say same things to us often”.
Another woman police officer Anupama Shenoy, who has quit the service, recently alleged that the state government and senior police officers harassed her. She had lodged a complaint with the Women’s Commission against the Ballari Superintendent of Police R Chetan.
Siddaramaiah Government has come under severe attack for interfering in the working of the officials like Anupama Shenoy, K Mathais, D K Ravi, M K Ganapathy, Mysuru DC Shikha, IAS Officer Rashmi Mahesh, and many more.